The Scientific Marksman | 2021

scientif ic marksman the

Feature Story: Healthcare Discrimination, pg. 26

The Scientific Marksman is a student-led, scientific magazine at St. Mark's School of Texas showcasing notable endeavors and discoveries in the sciences, technologies, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, both in and outside the community.

The Scientific Marksman Volume 09 2020-2021 St. Mark's School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, TX 75230 (214) 346-8000

the

scientif ic marksman

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Opening / Editors' Note

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editors' note Veni, Vidi, Vici — I came, I saw, I conquered. Stemming from the era of Ancient Rome, this phrase symbolizes the epitome of achievement. To propel himself forward, Julius Caesar daringly gripped adversity by the throat.

The past year has been one of the most difficult of our lifetimes, saturated with adversity. A pandemic has ravaged the globe, leaving behind a trail of lost connections, careers and lives. Months-long protests against police brutality and racial discrimination have left people tired and hurt, yet unsatisfied.

A horde of other challenges have trampled our daily lives.

This edition of The Scientific Marksman embodies a light at the end of the tunnel. While we haven’t reached the end yet, it has finally become a tangible, visible goal. The most trying part of the pandemic is behind us. And, through our struggles, we’ve come together to persevere. With this edition of the magazine, we wanted to encapsulate this sense of communal support through the lenses of science and collectivity. Family helping family. Friend helping friend. Stranger helping stranger. Together, we came, we saw, and we conquered. Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus.

Without further ado, we are honored to present the fruits of countless sleepless nights and 16-hour work days — this ninth edition of The Scientific Marksman.

Co-Editors-in-Chief Tamal Pilla '21, Varun Trivedi '21

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Opening / Dedication

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dedicatee:

dr. bonnie f lint Science is a journey. To get from point A to point B, the scientific traveler has to embrace curiosity, unfamiliarity and ingenuity — but not without help. For seven years, Dr. Bonnie Flint has been instrumental to the STEM upbringing of countless St. Mark’s students, guiding aspiring scholars along the paths of biology, anatomy and physiology. Her positive demeanor has never failed to light up a classroom, offering a refreshing relief from the toils of an otherwise rigorous curriculum. Her contagious smiles spread to all students, never failing to foster an exuberant atmosphere.

Our staff is eternally grateful to Dr. Flint for her continual support, encouragement, and guidance throughout the years as the sponsor of our magazine. For that reason, we dedicate this edition of The Scientific Marksman to her.

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Opening / Table of Contents

contents

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section i: venimus

cover:

per

ra ad astra

section ii: vidimus

section iii: vicimus

Tourist Space Travel

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Airplane Travel

12

The Climate Clock

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Masked Expressions

16

Mask Effectiveness

18

"Anti-Vaxxers"

20

Social Media's Role in Fact-Checking

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Politics and Science

24

Racial Healthcare Discrimination

28

Interview: Dr. Shaida Khan

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Perspective: Jordan Gaines '21

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Blue Light

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Perspective: Rahul Banerjee '21

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Animals and Music

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Perspective: Jacob Bell '21

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Mask Interactions

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Supplement: Mask Interactions

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COVID and the Brain

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Pharmaceutical Industry

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Supplement: Pharmaceutical Industry

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Abhi Jain: Hand Sanitizer Project

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Diets

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Supplement: Wildfires

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Wildfires

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Artificial Intelligence

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Supplement: PPE

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Personal Protective Equipment

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Gene Editing

70

Deep Brain Stimulation

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Section I: Venimus / Divider

section i: we came venimus As humans, we are curious. The nature of science, as a field of study—as a mindset—is the embodiment of this curiosity. We crave to understand the enigmatic world around us, to harness its power and to develop our societies to their fullest potentials. And the first step in the glorious undertaking that is “science” — that is satiating our seemingly insatiable craving for knowledge — is discovery. This section hopes to capture this phase of scientific accomplishment, highlighting new and exciting ventures in the STEM world. In large part, the ones highlighted here will be recent or upcoming projects that have years of research and development before reaching public relevance.

"The nature of science lends itself perfectly to innate human curiosity—without our desire for knowledge, science wouldn't exist. Science and its study really are core elements of our humanity."

Peter Orsak

Class of 2022

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Tourist Space Travel

10

Airplane Travel

12

The Climate Clock

14

Masked Expressions

16

Mask Effectiveness

18

"Anti-Vaxxers"

20

Social Media's Role in Fact-Checking

22

Politics and Science

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Section I: Venimus / Tourist Space Travel

destination: the moon Little Joe II stands tall in Rocket Park at Space Center Houston.

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Since Neil Armstrong’s historic “small step” on the moon, only 11 others have followed. Soon, however, the dream of space travel may become a reality for everyone. adies and gentlemen, welcome to the moon. ocal time is and the temperature is elvin. or your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain turns off the “fasten seat belt sign. n behalf of Space irlines, thank you for oining us on this ourney we hope to see you again soon.

– Space tourism has been a hot topic throughout the world lately, with big names like lon usk and eff Be os entering the growing market. he uestion becomes, is it actually practical nd what will it do for the merican interest of space travel Similar cra es have happened before during the space race and the old ar but this instance proves different.

In the s and s, the Space ace catapulted interstellar exploration. overnments sprang to action. ublic support forged the basis for funding. idespread involvement spurred everyone into action. plethora of massive technological advancements followed in successions, but since merica landed on the moon, public interest in space has dwindled, creating an era of stagnation with space development the most telltale sign of this decadence being the bankruptcy of S .

Furthermore, the new younger generation meant to pick up the reins and travel farther into space grew up watching the failures of the Challenger space shuttle and more. orbid events such as these dissuaded the public s enthusiasm about space exploration and caused this dormant period.

Still, private companies such as SpaceX have taken over the market and revived the dying industry. ublic interest in space travel still isn t as strong as it used to be, but now that space travel is company-based, space tourism companies have emerged. ourism has a direct link to the common people, and since space tourism will undoubtedly be expensive to start, if space tourism companies can appeal to the celebrities who have a big in uence on society, they will be the galvani ing force to renew massive public interest in space travel and once again start up the world s engine of progress. “ aking humans muli-planetary should be the main ob ective of space exploration, president of the rocketry club acob Bell said.

“If tourist space travel brings more interest and money into the space marketplace, then it would be a really great contribution to the future of space exploration.

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Other companies like Virgin Galactic are at the forefront of space tourism and have set goals for their first missions. ccording to a ashington ost article published this February, SpaceX is looking to take customers into orbit by the end of . Because of the pandemic, this deadline will probably be pushed back to 2022, but there are still promising results. Space has signed a apanese billionaire to y to the moon in the next three years, and eff Be os s company, Blue rigin, and irgin alactic are both planning tourist trips to space. In , the Boeing ompany invested million in irgin Galactic, showing staunch support of their missions in space travel. here have also been multiple successful previous ights, including uy aliberte s a anadian billionaire weeklong ight in space. dditionally, S is beginning to open up to the idea of space tourism, which helps develop both a

"If tourist space travel brings more interest and money into the space marketplace, then it would be a really great contribution to the future of space exploration."

Jacob Bell

President, Rocketry Club

private and public industry of space tourism. ccording to he erge, Space is also planning to send three tourists to the International Space Station next year. n article from he ew ork imes states that “the space tourists will spend two days traveling to and from the orbital space station and at least eight days on board, sharing space with the astronauts who work there. ickets will cost around million.

However, the case of Orion Span warns against overly ambitious goals of space travel. In , US-based space technology start-up Orion Span announced plans for urora Station, a luxury space hotel. or million, travelers would have been able to y up miles to ow arth rbit and stay in the station for days. rion Span had plans to launch their station in 2021 and accommodate passengers as soon as . ow, though, the odds of that happening are ero.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that we have shut down our operations, reads their website, orionspan.com. “ e have kept our commitments to our customers and fully refunded all customers , deposits to travel to space with us. hile the pro ect collapsed due to lack of funding, the founders remain hopeful for the future of commercial space travel and exploration.

“ e thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and encouragement over the years, the website continues. “ hile this is the end of the ourney for Orion Span, we remain committed to the mission of rion Span moving forward human settlement of space. xiom Space is another name on the rise in the space industry, growing in popularity because of its goal of creating the “ orld s irst ommercial Space Station, as their website says. ccording to Space ews, on an. , , S announced that the company had won access to a docking port to the International Space Station. In eb. , B reported that xiom Space had raised million in its latest funding round for its pro ect, signaling the transition from lofty dreams to concrete reality. “ here s more work to be done, and we will need many companies to be successful to build a sustainable economy in space. But, this is a positive sign, S s director of commercial space ight development hil c lister said according to B . hese are huge steps in the process of making tourist space travel accessible to the general public. t the end of the day, space tourism seems feasible, but uestions still remain. ill the merican public react positively or negatively to it nd how will companies make space travel more popular and affordable he cost will be very high initially, so it seems it will only be accessible to high-income people. But over time like many products produced in the past the price may drop significantly, and space travel may become a new norm. “ his new norm may frighten some people at first after all, many were hesitant to y on planes or ride in cars after their introduction in the 20th century and this concern is definitely ustified, Bell said. “However, given the current pace, it seems that in the next several decades commercial spaceight will become safe, affordable, and widespread.

Story Benjamin Gravel, Alex Pan Photos Courtesy of Jacob Bell ‘21 Graphic Morgan Chow

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Section I: Venimus / Airplane Travel

om, it's just not safe for the holidays. I'm just not going to bring the virus home to you and dad,” he told her.

The conversation between school nurse Julie Doerge and her son occurred around the United States — would it be safe for families, particularly with older members, to gather for the holidays during the pandemic? Even the country’s COVID-19 expert Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed the risks of his three adult daughters visiting him, an at-risk individual, and ultimately decided against it.

“As Dr. Fauci has told us, everybody has to do their own risk analysis to determine what the risk is compared to the benefit, Doerge said. “ e reali e it's going to be hard for people — but a lot of the PR has been during this holiday that are we not better off postponing a visit for a year until we get a vaccine up and running for the whole world than to have an empty seat at the table a year from now because somebody got the virus.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, Doerge has given advice to community members so that they can better understand the current state of air travel. “[Airlines] have become so strict with the mask mandate that they’re turning planes around and taking them back to the gate if somebody takes their mask off and refuses to put it back on,” Doerge said. “As well, they have been increasing their air filtration and putting H filters in the planes.”

Along with wearing a mask, social distancing is a key deterrent when it comes to protecting oneself from the virus.

“For American Airlines, they're making sure people are socially distant on the jet bridge,” Doerge said. “They try to keep people socially distant within the terminal, but I've talked to people who have been traveling, and that is not the case. You pretty much have to keep your distance by yourself.”

Inside the plane, social distancing and wearing a mask can be challenging, especially for long ights.

“Places like Southwest Airlines are leaving the middle seat open, and I'm pretty sure that is still not six feet,” Doerge said. “Maybe it's two feet across, but definitely the people in front of you and behind you are not socially distant.”

Even if airlines establish proper distancing, people will inevitably come in close contact. Restrooms still aren’t guaranteed to be safe, and it’s still being tested whether aerosoli ed waste is contagious.

“They found that obviously if you use the restroom on the airplane, the stool could have [COVID-19] in it,” Doerge said. “And when you ush the toilet, it s then aerosoli ed and so you could potentially be breathing in that aerosoli ation. esearch still hasn't nailed down whether it's enough

In a pandemic-era world, traveling abroad, whether for business or pleasure, had become virtually impossible. With the increased risk of exposure, how should we approach air travel?

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piloting pandemic pandemonium

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to be contagious, but it's why we see universities testing samplings of the sewage in dorms to see if they can find hotspots in the sewers of college kids waste fuel.”

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, airlines are strict on quarantine. Even if all the passengers follow social distancing and wear their masks, airlines take no risk and will consider passengers near the infected individual close contacts.

"They try to keep people socially distant within the terminal, but I've talked to people who have been traveling, and that is not the case.

You pretty much have to keep your distance by yourself.”

Julie Doerge

School Nurse

“The airlines do contact tracing, and they go two rows in front of you, two rows behind you and to people next to you, telling them they have to be in quarantine,” Doerge said. “Our health department here in Dallas says that if we know of anybody breaking quarantine and we provide their name and the phone number, the airline will put them on the o- ly ist to keep airline passengers safe.

Still, passengers can make their ying experiences

safer in a multitude of ways.

“If everybody wore a mask and a face shield, it would help, but I'm sure airlines have trouble just getting people to wear a mask,” Doerge said. “An hour is one thing, but four to six hours or an international ight would definitely be hard.

A slew of vaccines have been developed. The oderna and fi er vaccines use new m technology, whereas the AstraZeneca vaccine resembles a u vaccine. hile these vaccines have been essential to reducing the spread of COVID-19, according to he ew ork imes, senior analyst ohn rant predicts against fully open commercial ights in the summer. “ e are unlikely to see all or even the ma ority of international markets that were served from the United States fully opened during the summer season, despite the best hopes of the airlines.”

Story Keshav Krishna and Ethan Gao Infographic Tamal Pilla Photo Paul Valois '22

The steps of air travel Remember, do not travel unless vaccinated or absolutely necessary. Assuming safety is your priority, or if you or anyone you know is suspected to have COVID-19, it is vital to your and everybody’s safety that you stay home.

1 Stay clean at the airport Practice social distancing and good hygiene. Wear your mask at all times, and encourage others to do the same.

3 Research destination Follow your destination’s COVID-19 restrictions. Understand that this is for the your safety and that of the people living there.

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Plan your trip Make sure to pack masks and hand sanitizer, and wash your hands with soap and water before and after screening. Study your destination, and be aware of any restrictions that are mandated there.

2 Maintain social distancing Few planes leave out the middle seat for social distancing, and even that is not very much distance. However, you can help yourself and those around you by not walking around in the aisle and by using the restroom before you enter the plane.

4 Stay safe upon return If you think you contracted COVID-19 on your trip, get tested and do not board an airplane unless you are sure that you are negative.

Do not hide your symptoms or resist the safety measures implemented by your area or your flight.

An empty DFW airport.

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Section I: Venimus / The Climate Clock

ticking ticking climate the

In recent years, climate change has accelerated to severely alarming speeds. To combat possibly irreversible damage, experts pose that people should be more cognizant of environmental change.

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n Sept. 19, 2020, at 3:20 p.m., the numbers 7:103:15:40:07 appeared on the Metronome — a public art creation facing Union Square in New York City. The numbers seemed hapha ard, but the significance lay in the overall purpose: to describe the years, days, hours, minutes and seconds left to act before Earth reaches its “deadline.” Simply put, artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd aimed to spread a message through what they call the “Climate Clock.” In their eyes, the window to act on climate change is shrinking, and action must be taken.

“This [artwork] is our way to shout that number from the rooftops,” Golan said just before the countdown began according to The New York Times.

“The world is literally counting on us.”

The time displayed on the Climate Clock is the amount of time left until arth reaches an average increase of one-and-a-half degrees Celsius. What’s the danger behind 1.5 degrees of global warming?

Although this number may not seem much, many scientists describe it as the point where humanity will start to experience many different shifts in the climate impacts; it’s the line where climate change will affect the natural systems that sustain us in dangerous, irreversible ways.

According to a special global warming report conducted by NASA, some of the impacts that will commence at one-and-a-half degrees of global warming include having temperature extremes, severe droughts, reduced water availability, extreme precipitation, impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, impacts on the ocean and marine life and, finally, direct impact on humans. any of these impacts may be irreversible once they happen. ven right now, the emissions from carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases have already significantly increased the temperature of the Earth. The planet is dangerously close to the “deadline.” “ very year, the puts out an emissions gap report, which shows both the trajectory that we’re on and the trajectory that we ought to be on,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning climate journalist Elizabeth olbert in an interview with edia. “ nfortunately, every year, the gap is uite large.

With all this predicament at hand, general knowledge proves necessary in fighting global temperature

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increase. Still, one major problem is that many people are unaware of current issues. “ ost of us don t even know the problem, ohn Hyukdae Kwon, a member of Future Forest, said.

“Look around and see the carbon footprints of the things you are en oying mobile devices, computer screens, walls and oors, the clothes you wear, the foods you eat, electricity, transportation, supermarkets, etc. he ads that in uenced you to buy goods are everywhere.

If these issues came to light, perhaps the general public would shift opinion and focus more on tackling modern climate issues.

“Have you ever seen an ad on reabsorbing released carbons?” Kwon asked. "We must wake up to the reality that our civili ation is destroying more than what the earth can replenish. But even if we wanted to do something about it, most people feel powerless against the gigantic magnitude of the problem.” eople have to reali e that change needs to happen soon. er won s nonprofit group, the four largest environmental issues affecting our sustainability and recognized by the UN are climate change, biodiversity loss, water stress and desertification. he first three affect each other, exacerbating each other to create the fourth and worst problem of desertification, land degradation and drought.

Without action, it will only be a matter of time until the Earth’s surface becomes barren like Mars.

"We must wake up to the reality that our civilization is destroying more than what the earth can replenish."

John Kwon

Member, Future Forest

“A third of Earth has already been degraded and the expansion is ongoing,” Kwon said. “At the same time, the global population is expected to rise to 9.3 billion by 2050. With more mouths to feed and less cereal produced due to land degradation, the outlook does not look promising.”

However, won agrees with others in the field that it is not too late to start change. It is possible for humanity to reach zero emission in the time allotted

by the climate clock, which is only about seven years. Emissions don’t have to be cut because nature is already doing most of the job. Less material has to be emitted through the next decade so that nature can absorb more.

“This is the moment. [This is] the best opportunity that we have and the best hope that the world will come together and build on [the Paris Climate Agreement],” former Secretary of State John Kerry said according to Reuters. “Scientists tell us this decade, 2020 to 2030, must be the decade of action.”

According to a report conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human activities such as burning fossil fuels have already caused about one degree of global warming.

But the report claims that those emissions alone are not su cient enough to reach fatal global warming humans can still maintain climate change and keep

what is currently a climate crisis from becoming a climate catastrophe. The climate clock merely reminds people to control their carbon emissions.

“Humanity’s procrastination to act against climate change has dragged for too long,” Kwon said. “Climate change is a threat to the sustainability of our civilization but lacks the attention it deserves. The climate clock is a desperate measure to call upon humanity’s attention to the imminent and urgent issue that’s threatening our sustainability.

Hopefully, the Clock will wake up enough people in time.”

Story Branden Song, Renil Gupta Graphic Tamal Pilla

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Section I: Venimus / Masked Expressions

Elated

Acting I student Jack Davis '21 simulates complex, conversational emotions.

Neutral

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Amused

Intent

Consoling

Disappointed

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Section I: Venimus / Mask Effectiveness

math

math & masks

The rapid growth of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 compelled a global mandate of maskwearing. But, how effective are these masks, and which type should you wear?

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asking is, principally, a medical and scientific concern. any people have adopted the consensus that masks are useful tools necessary to combat the virus and community spread. urrently, the ma ority of commercial institutions re uire both customers and employees to wear masks, but many still do not wear masks while outside. his behavior is partly supported by science because aerosol particles diffuse more rapidly in an open environment. ccording to the website for the enter for Disease ontrol and revention D , however, the “ D recommends that people wear masks in public settings, at events and gatherings and anywhere they will be around other people. n examination of basic mathematical principles offers a great explanation as to why. undamentally, all interactions resulting in transmissions fall under four categories mask wearer to mask wearer, mask wearer to non-mask wearer, non-mask wearer to mask wearer and non-mask wearer to non-mask wearer. s more people wear masks, the percentage of interaction with masks rises, resulting in increased overall safety and less community spread. dditionally, the effectiveness of the masks worn impacts results heavily. By understanding the differences between masks and the simple math behind their deceptive power, people can significantly reduce the spread of ID- . he usage of masks should be encouraged in indoor settings. he D has stated that the relative risk of being a icted with ID-

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varies inversely with the number of people in a community wearing masks. he D recommends the usage of masks at all times during a school day as well as routine saniti ations of heavy-use surfaces. he orld Health rgani ation H recommends masks that fit snugly around the wearer s nose to prevent any ID- particles from being expelled through a gap in the mask. any different options exist out in the market, and each mask offers different levels of effectiveness. he four most popular masks are cloth masks, s, surgical masks and face-shields or other .

I. Cloth masks loth masks are the most commonly used face masks and, as such, vary wildly. t the start of the pandemic, many did not have access to medical masks and stitched together their own cloth face masks. he current D guidelines recommend that the general public wears cloth face coverings. asks with at least two layers of fabric are more likely to reduce the spread of ID- when people in public settings widely use them. loth face masks are the least effective, blocking only of droplets that are ten microns or larger.

Because of the variety of cloth masks, school nurse ulie Doerge has standardi ed masks at school. “ e made all our masks from a set group so that if you had a St. ark s mask on, you were good to go, Doerge said.

The school’s cloth masks are made with three layers, including a woven cotton layer and a filter, providing increased protection. These masks comply with the regulations of the Dallas County Health Department, and because cloth masks are reusable, they are the preferred choice of protection; however, one caveat of cloth masks is that they must be washed regularly to maintain their protective capabilities. From saliva build-up to trapped particles, the CDC recommends washing masks daily. Either using a washing machine or handwashing with soap or laundry detergent proves su cient. he crucial part that many people forget to do after washing their masks, however, is to dry them fully — a humid environment promotes bacterial growth and can lead to harmful infections.

II. Surgical masks Before the start of the pandemic, many medical professionals wore paper surgical masks because they provided a physical barrier against disease while being non-restrictive. The CDC recommends that those who have tested positive for the virus wear surgical masks. The surgical masks block 95% of particles that are three microns or larger, which means that most aerosolized particles can’t pass through the material. On the downside, surgical masks are non-reusable products, so they must be disposed of after each use. The waste created by discarding surgical masks is one reason that some prefer other types of masks.

III. N95's At the beginning of the pandemic, people rushed to secure a stash of N95’s as they provided the most filtration out of all the protective options. his sudden increase in demand caused a shortage for medical personnel and front-line workers, putting them in real danger. In reality, medical personnel need priority to N95’s because their job entails them coming into close contact with infected people for extended periods of time. Normal citizens have the privilege to remain socially distanced, so other forms of are more cost-effective and provide ample protection.

Additionally, N95’s and KN95’s need to be properly fitted to function properly.

“Kids who throw [an N95] on and wear it to school might as well just have on a procedural mask or a face covering because it’s not doing them any better than the masks that we’re wearing unless they re specifically fitted for them, Doerge said.

IV. Dual Functionality of Masks Masks do not guarantee safety, but they do mitigate the risk of transmission. Masks protect the wearer and the people in his or her vicinity. This two-way protection makes widespread mask-wearing a necessary tool in the fight against ID- .

A mask lowers the chance of transmission both through inhalation and exhalation. This double protection makes it even more imperative to wear a mask.

– While the mathematical model’s message (see "The Math Behind it All") is important, it does contain caveats because it oversimplifies reality.

The model assumes that people randomly interact with each other, discounting that individuals may

The Math Behind it All A mathematical model of mask effectiveness.

To first understand why masks are so effective at preventing the spread of the virus, one must examine the two extremes of the mask-wearing situation.

Assuming that masks are 50% effective in each direction, overall disease transmission would drop by 75% because the virus can only spread through one route (mask wearer to mask wearer). Unfortunately, not everyone wears masks so the virus spreads through a mix of all four routes. As mask usage goes up something interesting happens, specifically at the point of 50% mask usage. At this point, the chance that both people wear a mask during an interaction is 25% (50% x 50%). Similarly, the other three routes have a 25% chance of happening. Surprisingly, the average drop in disease transmission is 43.75% when 50% of the population wears 50% effective masks. The general perception is that the drop would be half of 75% since only half the population is wearing masks, but because of the dual functionality of masks, the average drop is significantly higher. To better understand this concept, we can analyze each subsection of the population within this example. The average drop in transmission for non-mask wearers is 25% ( (0% + 50%) / 2 ) as even non-mask wearers receive modest benefits because the air they breathe is moderated by other people’s masks. The average drop in transmission for mask wearers is 62.5% ( (50% + 75%) / 2 ). Therefore, the average drop in the overall population would be 43.75%, the average of the two subsections. This effect is magnified as the effectiveness of masks increases.

For example, if 50% of the population wears a 75% effective mask the average drop in disease transmission is 60.9%.

interact with a set group of people more often.

Additionally, the model only accounts for interactions between two people, which does not hold up in the real world. Despite these limitations, the model demonstrates the true potential of masks, for they are the recommended tool to protect the wearer and the community from COVID-19. At this point in time, the CDC recommends mask-wearing for most people. While not all masks are the same, for most people, multi-layered cloth masks are su cient for daily usage. After over a year of a global pandemic, understanding the e cacy of different masks ensures that people make the best decisions for themselves and the communities around them.

Story Arjun Badi, Evan Lai Photos Evan Lai Infographic Tamal Pilla

83% of US population say they support wearing masks

51% of US population actually wear masks in public

44% of particles that can transmit COVID-19 are blocked by cloth masks

42% of particles that can transmit COVID-19 are blocked by surgical masks

90% of particles that can transmit COVID-19 are blocked by surgical masks + cloth masks together

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Section I: Venimus / "Anti-Vaxxers"

The ability of vaccines to not only end this pandemic but also prevent the spread of common illnesses like the flu has been emphasized by medical leaders everywhere. Yet, some people are still choosing to forgo their vaccinations.

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anti — he COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the lives of people all around the world.

IDa coronavirus first discovered in Wuhan, China in December of 2019—is transmitted via droplets from the respiratory system of one person to another. Social-distancing and mask-wearing serve to slow down the virus’s dispersal; however, vaccines will contribute to the final end of the uncontrolled dissemination of the virus. UT Southwestern Medical Center Infectious Disease Doctor James Cutrell says, “Vaccines will be an important part of how enough people in the public develop immunity to the virus to start to curb and control the pandemic.” However, skepticism has been increasing about vaccines. According to the Pew Research Center, in September 2020, 49% of Americans said they were unlikely to take a vaccine for COVID-19.

First, understanding how vaccines work is important.

“In broad terms, a vaccine works to stimulate the body’s own immune response to the virus to provide protection against future infection or disease,” Cutrell said.

Vaccines then lead to the establishment of herd immunity, the state where enough individuals in a population have immunity that the disease doesn’t spread more within the community. According to Cutrell, herd immunity also provides protection to those who are more vulnerable or do not have personal immunity.

While a vaccine is intended to prevent infectious diseases, some people are still hesitant or even opposed to taking them. A few religious denominations cite humanitarian dilemmas in their prohibition of vaccines. There are people, often grouped under the umbrella term “anti-vaxxers” who believe that vaccines are outright harmful and have no ability to prevent disease and can actually in ict other diseases.

A concern regarding vaccines revolves around heavy toxins and their long-term effects. “ he u vaccine has had some really heavy toxins,” said former anesthesiologist and current functional medicine practitioner Dr. Kina Khatri M.D. Professionals like Khatri would like to see more long-term studies of the effects of the u vaccine and other vaccines, tracking and analyzing what happens to the people who take it, but she admits

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that would be extremely di cult.

“You would have to keep all the groups the same… age-wise, what they're eating, their environment, so it's just really hard to do that study,” said Khatri.

There are also concerns about the new mRNA vaccines, in which the mRNA is manipulated to produce a protein to fight and prevent infectious disease. Many concerns revolve around how that may affect our own D . he D has stated that these mRNA vaccines have been “rigorously tested” and a rms, “m vaccines do not contain a live virus and do not carry a risk of causing disease … [and] mRNA from the vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell and does not affect or interact with a person’s DNA.” The COVID-19 vaccine will prove to be in uential. In order to reach the threshold for herd immunity, Cutrell estimates that around 60-70% of people would need to be vaccinated and immune, and some go even further and estimate nearly 90% of the population would need to take the vaccine.

Khatri agrees that the vaccines may decrease total cases. But she says that there is too much focus on the vaccine and not enough on improving other underlying risk factors such as diet and lifestyle. “[People] go to the gas station … and they're eating Doritos, and they're drinking Coke, and then they think they're going to be okay by getting these COVID vaccines. Well, why not work on the foundations of health, rather than just simply going straight towards vaccines as the answer to everything?” said Khatri.

"Vaccines will be an important part of how enough people in the public develop immunity to the virus to start to curb and control the pandemic."

James Cutrell

UT Southwestern Medical Center Infectious Disease

Khatri believes that improving one’s environment is a starting point to fighting infectious disease. Similar to the u vaccines, she is also concerned about the long-term effects of the ID- vaccines, questioning what could happen down the road.

According to Cutrell, however, as of now, no major issues have arisen.

“So far from the clinical studies, the main side

— vax...? effects from the vaccines have been mild pain or reactions at the site of the shot or other self-limited symptoms, utrell said. “However, as more individuals receive the vaccine, there will be very rigorous monitoring for any more rare or serious side effects as is done for all vaccines. he D advises those who are generally allergic to taking vaccines to exercise caution with the new vaccine. he D also urges vaccine administrators to have observation periods and always be prepared to deal with a potentially severe reaction to the vaccine. ll in all, the ID- vaccine lends a decisive blow to the global pandemic, assuming the overwhelming ma ority of the population choose to take it. ddressing the general suspicion toward vaccines that people have developed will become very important. In addition, the pandemic has exposed risk factors in vulnerable populations. s a result, some would like to see priority on improving the general living conditions and environments, such as reducing pollution and eating food with fewer pesticides and toxins. or hatri, making progress in this debate means understanding both sides, the one of people who promote vaccines and the other of those who don t, and acknowledging the complexity of immunology.

Options for Vaccination

As national vaccination rates rise and herd immunity because feasible, it's important to understand the inner workings of publically available vaccines.

Who? What?

When?

Where?

Why? How?

Who? What?

When?

Where?

Why? How?

Johnson & Johnson viral vector COVID vaccine approved February 27, 2021 pharmacies, universities, hospitals to put an end to COVID 1 dose. Sends in some of the viral material with a safe virus, triggering an immune response that produces antibodies against COVID. Might cause pain, redness and swelling in the arm and fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea in the body.

Who? What?

When?

Where?

Why? How?

Moderna mRNA COVID vaccine approved December 18, 2020 pharmacies, universities, hospitals to put an end to COVID 2 doses, 28 days apart. mRNA gives instructions to cells to make a certain protein that promotes an immune response that creates antibodies against COVID. Might cause pain, redness and swelling in the arm and fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea in the body.

Story Jeffrey Chen, Akash Ragunathan Infographic Darren Xi, Tamal Pilla

21

Section I: Venimus / Social Media's Role in Fact Checking

ensorship fact-checking censorship? social media:

or

The immense rise of social media in the past decade prompts an important question: how do we maintain truth in a web of easily accessible, easily distributed information?

wipe. Like. Follow.

With the great advent of social media, these terms have ingrained themselves into daily vernacular and life. Users share stories, pictures and jokes for the whole world to see, and the ma ority of students find themselves scrolling through Instagram and responding to Snapchats on a daily basis.

But this great spread of information comes with a downside: misleading media reaches people far more easily, feeding unsuspecting individuals fake content and sensationalist pieces to gain traction.

Users who believe everything that they see online can be implanted with false, deceptive or even destructive ideas. Anyone can post on social media, allowing potentially fake news to spread easily throughout the internet. With just the tap of a finger, people can find themselves entrenched in the never-ending walls of blog posts, Facebook pages and discussion threads, believing what they read and possibly being misled.

To combat the tides of disinformation, social media companies have been fact-checking content on their platforms. However, it’s not a simple process. he logistics of finding fake news in a vast sea of standard content are di cult some posts are bound to slip through the cracks. Moreover, companies walk a fine line between fact-checking and infringing upon first amendment rights.

Outright censorship is a direct violation of these liberties. Platforms must also decide on policies for high-ranking o cials and public individuals whose in uential messages command significant sway over their audiences.

S

I. Twitter witter one of the largest companies in this conversation tags potentially misleading posts with appropriate labels, which they claim are meant to “to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context.”

These labels lead users to a page about the subject that Twitter considers accurate, which has a paragraph that clarifies the specious information and accurately details the topic with articles and posts from credible, prominent sources. With this additional context, users can make informed decisions about the information they see.

Still, Twitter has acknowledged that their process isn’t perfect. In June of 2020, for instance, they apologized for adding fact-check labels to posts that contained valid information about COVID-19 and

22 / The Scientific Marksman

5G data networks.

Nonetheless, Twitter promised through a company statement on Feb. 4, 2020, to maintain fair treatment to ensure the best experience for its community of users.

“We’re committed to doing this right. Updating our rules in public and with democratic participation will continue to be core to our approach. We’re working to serve the public conversation, and doing our work openly and with the people who use our service.”

Twitter has also outlined the process by which they label media as potentially manipulated or misleading in their guidelines and policies, a procedure that considers three questions: “Is the content synthetic or manipulated? Is the content shared in a deceptive manner? Is the content likely to impact public safety or cause serious harm?

If any of the requirements for these questions are met, then the post may be labeled and even removed from the platform.

II. Other Media While Twitter uses its own team to conduct fact checks, most platforms operate differently. ompanies like Facebook and Google have partnered with independent fact-checking organizations to move the agging of posts to third-party sources to guarantee less bias in the process.

As well, many people have felt censored by the recent surge in fact-checking from large social media platforms. This has led to the rise of online echo chambers such as Parler, a social networking service known for congregating right-wing views.

Groups such as QAnon spread across many of these platforms, and many users can easily curate their content to feed their preexisting ideas.

"For several decades, prior to the advent of social media, the tone of the news was controlled by essentially three companies: ABC, NBC and CBS." John Song

Early Yahoo and Facebook Employee

lthough this idea of unfiltered, unregulated social media seems alluring, companies have many reasons for negating such a reality. For instance, any minimal increase in monetary profit would be countered tenfold by potential legal concerns. If murder was conceptualized and executed on social media,

should the respective platform be responsible for a share of the blame? While no clear answer arises from this persistent dilemma, companies remain, nevertheless, in a tough bind.

III. Policy Debate The question of whether companies are responsible for the content posted on their platforms continues today. With politicians from opposing sides of the spectrum seeking to remove Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act — the section labeling the role of the companies as private platforms instead of publishers, giving them essentially immunity to lawsuits — the situation seems dire for companies. While many members of both sides are unsupportive of the law, their lack of support is for polar reasons.

“Republicans have widely called for the reform or repeal of the law because of their perception that the Silicon Valley powerhouses are biased against conservative views and work to censor conservatives,” CNET senior reporter Marguerite Reardon wrote in a CNET article. “Democrats agree that reforms are needed, but they see the problem differently, arguing that Section prevents social media companies from doing more to moderate their platforms.”

Experts and industry professionals, on the other hand, attribute the rise and success of the internet to Section 230, which passed in 1996.

“For several decades, prior to the advent of social media, the tone of the news was controlled by essentially three companies: ABC, NBC and CBS,” early Yahoo and Facebook employee John

Song said.

Social media provides a form of communication for everyone and allows people to hear a more diverse set of opinions than those controlled by the major media corporations. The success of these companies relies on users’ ability to share and form their own opinions away from the age-old standard, and without Section 230, that dynamic would be impossible.

“The goal of [social media] is to provide a service and remove friction from social communication,” Song said.

Without the ability to smoothly host a platform for others, social media would not be nearly as successful.

Civil Liberties Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation David Green has shared similar sentiments, describing how early online forums in social media were stunted because they needed to read everything, have specific legal protections and be responsible for everything on the site. With the magnitude of the internet, these requirements are unattainable, and the only conceivable course of action would be to not offer the service.

As such, policy and law will drastically shift and affect informational safety in the upcoming decades.

Whether restrictive or lenient, those future rules will govern individual privacy, social dynamics and public interaction.

No clear action proves correct. But caution does, indeed, prove necessary. One side partisanship runs a dangerous line, and transparency alone will work wonders for fair, accurate information dissemination. Beliefs and party aside, the end goal serves to keep everyone satisfied and safe in regards to social media — regulated or not. Fair transparency to all is a step in the right direction of that ultimate target.

IV. Effects in Business Another major issue with free uncensored internet is the business aspect of it. Social media, although it sometimes feels like a default service, is still composed of private companies that have to earn money to survive; if all advertisers are driven away, the companies will find themselves ailing in bankruptcy. This is a constant bane of almost all major non-censorship platforms. A prime example of this is 4chan — one of the internet’s most notorious anonymous sites, with a bare level of moderation that only limits the violation of American laws. Because of a lack of advertisements caused by companies not wanting to be associated with the messages posted on the platform, 4chan remains plagued with business concerns. The bad public image that potential partners or services could garner disincentivizes them from providing service for these sites.

For instance, Parler has faced multiple issues hosting its app and its servers.

Cloud hosting platforms big and small from Amazon Web Service to Google

Story Shaan Mehta, Isaac Song Graphic Morgan Chow

Cloud have all declined to host Parler, and both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store have dropped it, citing violations of their terms of service. Providing uncensored, unrestricted content appears to be an impractical business strategy.

V. Future Viability With the advent of an age of technology comes a monumental amplification in communication.

Given the ability to reach out to distant relatives with the tap of a screen, meet romantic partners with the swipe of a page and showcase latest travel destinations with the push of a button, people find themselves increasingly craving interaction.

23

Section I: Venimus / Politics and Science

ith issues such as climate change and pollution appearing more and more in public discussion, political figures have adopted their own views on scientific topics to appeal to their constituencies. Shortly put, politics and science are becoming increasingly intertwined. nown for providing rational, fact-driven coverage to a wide audience, many scientific ournals have begun to speak out about their own political beliefs, but how does introducing political opinions affect the scientific community In an increasingly politically charged world, where do we draw the line – lthough scientific ournals have traditionally remained neutral in political debates, as political leaders have taken increasingly drastic steps, many ournals have begun to speak out, providing a voice of reason in what some may call a sea of chaos. “ he ournals that sided against resident Donald Trump] did not suddenly side with one political candidate, Scientific merican senior editor osh ischman said. “ any of them have spent years opposing policies that ignored science, and many of them have decried political attacks on scientists.

This year, those positions led them to oppose Mr. Trump’s election on the grounds that his anti-science policies have hurt the merican people and the world.” hile it may seem absurd for scientific ournals to meddle in elections, science and politics go handin-hand. “ olitics and science have been intertwined since science’s earliest times,” Nature editor Ehsan Mahsood said. “Science has always needed to be paid for. Today, much of that funding comes from the governments whom we elect. t the same time, governments also rely on scientists for advice, as is happening now with the IDpandemic.”

Because of this reliance, these vital sources are even more vital to inform their readers of the rational choice.

“When we elect politicians to lead us, we are also choosing the people who will also carry some responsibility for science,” Mahsood details. “And we want to make sure that the person who takes the nation s highest o ce represents truthfulness, integrity, humility, transparency, inclusiveness and hard work. his person must not be afraid of paying attention to detail. hese are not only the values we want in our leaders, but they are also among the values that make for good science.” s the situation has grown increasingly di cult, science has played a strong role in leading the nation on the right path. Through these wide-reaching ournals, the scientific community is able to spread messages of ration and logic.

“Scientific merican has, during the past years, repeatedly condemned the policies of the Trump dministration on health and the environment because the overwhelming evidence showed that those policies hurt people and harmed the planet,” ischman said. “ his fall, we endorsed oe Biden for resident the first time in the maga ine s -year history that we endorsed a candidate for president. e did it because Biden s policies follow evidence when it comes to effective ways of

W

synthesizing politics & science With global scientific issues like climate change becoming increasingly common in politics, these two fields have developed an unlikely connection in recent years.

24 / The Scientific Marksman

controlling the IDpandemic, amongst other issues. hile it may be viewed as detrimental to both communities by many, ischman sees the meshing of politics and science as a definite positive.

“Do I think this advocacy is a positive thing for the scientific community ischman asked. “In this particular case, yes. It makes the statement that science is on the side of evidence and facts and that the science community is willing to call out those, such as r. rump, who repeatedly go against evidence and facts. It also signals to scientists that they have lots of work to do to convince many mericans that scientific evidence is not simply an opinion but, rather, a set of provable ideas that match what we observe in the real world.

"This fall, we endorsed Joe Biden for President — the first time in the magazine’s 175-year history that we endorsed a candidate for president."

Josh Fischman

Senior Editor, Scientific American

ven though growing bipartisan support for scientific ideals proves di cult, ischman believes that all will work out in the long run.

“I think that if the new Biden administration follows scientific guidance, mericans will see positive results from that, ongress will follow and ournals and scientists will no longer feel the need to identify and ob ect to anti-science policies as often, ischman said. hat is, however, a big “if, as trust in politicians and their udgment has decreased considerably over the past few years. ooking into the future, there s no telling how in uential politics will be in science.

“I think that energy, the environment, public health and advanced technology are all popular topics , ischman said. “ oliticians are also interested in how science can enhance our national security, ways that science might make us more vulnerable and how science itself can stimulate economic growth, ust as the research that developed the Internet laid the groundwork for a multi-billion dollar economic sector and a huge number of obs.

As such, it is imperative that these journals adhere to the morals of the scientific community.

“We cover science, so we write stories about politics only when science has some evidence that relates to political decisions or policies,” Fischman said. “ e use the phrase evidence-based a lot. nd that can apply to stories showing that lax gun control leads to more violence and more crime, or that cities and towns that allow more toxic substances in drinking water have more health problems, or that climate change is increasing the severity of storms. t the end of the day, people have one goal in mind advancing the nation as a whole. ltimately, scientific research facilitates this advancement, advising others as to how to behave though experimental data and conclusions.

“When we cover politics, it is to advise our leaders leaders at all levels to always do the right thing for science and societies, ahsood said. “If a political leader is advocating an idea or carrying out an action that is at odds with openness or inclusion or that could cause harm to our institutions of learning, then we ll advise them not to take that road.

Story Darren Xi, Jonathan Yin Graphic Jeffrey Chen, Darren Xi

25

Cover: Per Aspera, Ad Astra / Divider

through

hardships ra to the astra stars per

ad

26 / The Scientific Marksman

An extrapolation of 2020's defining characteristics.

Artwork Cooper Cole Cover Illustration Tamal Pilla

27

Cover: Per Aspera, Ad Astra / Racial Healthcare Discrimination

COVID-19 and discrimination.

Aside from being among the most prevalent challenges in 2020, they shared another relationship — healthcare. The tribulations of the pandemic served to highlight the discrimination of minorities in the world of medicine. rom the signing of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964, minorities across the country have made tremendous advances towards fair and equal treatment. Modern-day Americans, though, largely think of systemic racism and other forms of discrimination in society as a thing of the past. However, with the advent of renewed social movements arguing for the continued advancement towards a fair and free society, America has awoken to a cold reality: systemic discrimination against minorities continues to run rampant. What’s concerning is that this discrimination extends into a profession that our society has idolized for impartiality and unbiased goodwill—doctors and other professionals of the healthcare industry. Moreover, with the ID- pandemic affecting every aspect of daily life, minorities and other disadvantaged groups are often not receiving the help/aid they desperately need. These disparities highlight the need for a change in the healthcare system and race itself in America.

F

I. Background America has always struggled with implicit racial bias in the medical industry. A study from 2015, published in the American Journal of Public Health, states that “Although overt discriminatory behavior in the United States may have declined in recent decades, covert discrimination and institutional bias are sustained by subtle, implicit attitudes that may in uence provider behavior and treatment choices.” This has led many minorities to cultivate a distrust for medical institutions.

School Director of

28 / The Scientific Marksman

Diversity Lorre Allen said, “[P]eople rely on experience. [T]hat's what you rely on for decisions that you make ... [they’re] relying on information that they know. [I]t's trust, you're putting your well-being into someone else's hands. And we need to acknowledge that, as a society, we have an issue of trust.”

Our own city of Dallas serves as a microcosm of America, demonstrating our national problems at a smaller scale while offering its own uni ue complications.

According to a study from Parkland Hospital, Texas has an uninsured rate of 1.75x the national average, the highest in the nation. This is mostly due to Texas’ lack of expanding Medicaid under the ffordable are ct, leading to large coverage gaps in minority neighborhoods. Allen said that many minorities and those in poverty are not able to get private insurance because “[they] are having to choose whether or not [they can] pay rent, keep utilities on, put food on the table, or go see a doctor.”

These coverage gaps lead to minorities being unable to receive medical care, exacerbating the effect of COVID-19.

II. The Issue: Dallas, and Beyond Another factor in minority disparity is the lack of medical facilities in minority neighborhoods.

The Parkland Hospital study shows that southern Dallas, a community that has more than 50% of its population identifying as a minority, has a noticeable lack of hospitals and health systems compared to northern Dallas, a more a uent community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put considerable strain on the already beleaguered Dallas healthcare system, re ected in the lack of testing sites within minority neighborhoods at the beginning of the pandemic. An NPR report from May 2020 shows that majority-white neighborhoods in Dallas had 68% more testing centers than minority neighborhoods. Though the Dallas community has worked tirelessly to create more testing facilities in minority neighborhoods, the trend of unequal numbers of medical facilities has not seemed to go away. A January 2021 KERA report shows that vaccine distribution has been very sluggish in Dallas

minority neighborhoods. The vaccine-distributing medical facilities in Southern Dallas are suffering from understa ng, hour-long waits, technology problems, and lack of vaccines. n a national level, minorities seem to suffer from other alarming trends. nfortunately, Dr. Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, noted that “a lot of the same populations that are disproportionately affected in many other industries are similarly [disproportionately] impacted with COVID-19.” In areas where a multitude of socio-economic issues are already a severe problem, ID hits the hardest. Dr. Huang said “some areas suffer higher mortality rates and disproportionate impacts from almost all issues, including, “chronic diseases, and infectious diseases.”

III. Exposure Exacberation Areas with food deserts provide one example of disproportionately impacted areas. In areas where fresh, healthy food is di cult to obtain, diabetes rates are higher than elsewhere. Chronic diseases like diabetes dramatically increase the risk of severe symptoms in the case of diabetes, ID worsens the symptoms of diabetes, in turn exacerbating the symptoms of COVID. Pre-existing conditions among minorities have lain dormant, only to be revealed by ID- . s pre-existing conditions greatly increase the risks of ID- , this is very worrying. s rs. llen said, the reason why these pre-existing conditions have not been addressed previously is that “ many minorities] are unaware of those pre-existing conditions [due to] the socioeconomic factor of having limited access to appropriate health care.” dditionally, obs with a high minority labor force can also cause higher exposure rates for minorities. Blue-collar obs with a high minority labor force related to cleaning, construction, and transport necessitate close and prolonged contact with other

people. ccordingly, minorities face higher exposure rates and hospitalization rates.

IV. Call to Action COVID-19 is indiscriminate in its spread, but man-made cultural factors have made an indelible mark on our communities. hough the situation may seem overwhelming, those in our community, and communities across merica, are actively combating these issues. rom activists to doctors on the front lines to city o cials, we are taking one step at a time. llen asked us, as members of the Dallas community, to make contributions to our society. “ ind an organi ation ... that support s society and the community, llen said. e can help each other, whether it s volunteering at a soup kitchen, whether it s volunteering at a homeless shelter. ...

Because in order for us to make things better, no matter what it is, we have to be able to come together and listen to each other and hear each other s voices as we move forward to making change.

Story Tamal Pilla, Varun Trivedi, Josh Mysore, Sampath Rapuri, Ryan Park, Aditya Shivaswamy Photos Daniel Sanchez

29

Cover: Per Aspera, Ad Astra / Interview: Dr. Shaida Khan

Q&A:

Dr. Shaida Khan

Vice Chair of the Women’s Issues in Neurology Section for the American Academy of Neurology

30 / The Scientific Marksman

Dr. Shaida Khan offers a glimpse into the extent of gender discrimination in the healthcare sector.

cess to health care. So, our biggest stressors from the healthcare professional perspective are the wellbeing of our patients.

What experiences have you had with speaking about gender discrimination in healthcare?

SK: “So, there’s a really good book that I recommend to read Diagnosis emale. It s an excellent book that talks about how medical bias endangers women’s health. Women are oftentimes taken less seriously… There was a patient that I saw the other day—she actually ended up having muscular dystrophy. But [the medical personnel] said, “Oh, she’s exaggerating. She s trying to get attention. e hear this kind of thing over and over again. Anyways, this book goes into many specialties where women are more likely to encounter particular troubling issues, like neurology, cardiology, and OB-GYN. This is particularly worse, especially for women of color, who face these challenges in a medical setting. There was a study where black women who went in for chest pain were misdiagnosed more often than non-black women—they were having a heart attack, but they were misdiagnosed. This bias is clearly inherent in the medical system. Talking about it; bringing it to light; understanding that we, as healthcare professionals and physicians, have our own implicit biases that are impacting our patients, especially our female patients and our patients of color, is a really important step in tackling the issue.

Dr. Shaida Khan: “I gave a talk to our Women in Neurology group here at UT Southwestern Medical Center and then expanded it to talk to our department leadership. So, I presented some data, gave an intro to the topic, discussed why we were talking about it and, in general, all of the different aspects of gender inequality within medicine and, specifically, within neurology.

Why did you pursue a career in medicine?

SK: “I didn't really realize that I wanted to be a physician until high school, but the passion for medicine was always there—biology and science was always my favorite topic in school growing up. I always had this desire and need to also kind of be involved with people and always kind of pained me to see other people in pain, and sometimes I felt like, you know, I wanted to reach out and help them and I didn't know how. Eventually, I realized that I could combine my love for science with my love for helping people. That to me was what the embodiment of a physician was, and I decided to pursue medicine.

How has the pandemic affected your job, your department, and, in general, the healthcare system?

SK: “ he first thing that comes to mind is burnout.

We’re reaching our emotional limits with what we are experiencing—the uncertainties of our own lives, of our own families, of our patients, of the future. Having to deal specifically with female-related issues, what ends up leading to further burnout are the gender inequities at home, like being the primary caretaker for children and older family members and doing household chores while also having a full workload. Promotion, compensation, childcare—it’s all being amplified in the pandemic as our priorities have shifted. For instance, my colleagues that have children have to figure out the daycare and school situation while having deadlines at work. We’re falling behind on those things disproportionately because of some of the other things that we’ve had to take care of.

What are some of the biggest worries of healthcare professionals during the pandemic?

SK: “Much of our satisfaction and joy in practicing medicine is taking care of people. One of the hardest things that have come out of the pandemic is delivering bad news over a telephone conversation or a video visit—moods and communication are blunted through virtual care services versus having that in person. Non-verbal interactions are a big part of how we communicate in medicine. And, patients who are from Hispanic and black communities have been disproportionately affected by ID itself through higher mortality rates as well as reduced ac-

How are women treated differently in the medical workplace?

Aside from differences in burnout, what other issues might women in healthcare, as practitioners, face that men may not?

SK: “ omen physicians have a different experience than men physicians. We hear comments from patients, colleagues, and mentors that it is troubling and exhausting. That it leads to burnout, it leads to self-confidence issues that lead to us pursuing different career paths, because we have differences and believing in ourselves, because after being told something so many times at some point you start to believe in it—we have our own implicit biases against ourselves. Things like inappropriate or unwanted extraneous comments on our appearance have no role in the conversation of us as taking care of patients. We also face problems like being dismissed or having role assumptions, when we walk into a room and are assumed to be a nurse or a student. I can probably say that most of my female colleagues have experienced walking into a patient-encounter room with a male trainee, and the male trainee is assumed to be the authoritative role. It de-emphasizes the role of the woman as a physician and a leader. These little implicit biases against women, as a physician and a leader, lead to structural inequity. These repeated experiences that we go through lead to burnout concerning having to repeatedly explain things.

The disparities become more pronounced over time you start off behind in the race, people are allowed to speed ahead of you, and when you start to run, they are already way ahead of you. The gap becomes exponentially wider… We need to start closing the gap of inequity—with pay, with promotion, with leadership—early in the careers of women. Higher proportions of women, especially during the pandemic, are leaving medicine, which is alarming. We need to do our best to retain women in medicine by promoting them, amplifying their voice, and fighting against these ine uities that they face at work.

How else has the pandemic helped highlight these inequalities?

SK: “[The disparities between men and women in healthcare] are becoming more highlighted in the pandemic. People are sitting down and describing their experiences. hen people are suffering from personal trauma, people want to speak out. Talking about healthcare and the societal inequities that we see is crucial. We should not be silent on the things that we see within the healthcare system and outside the healthcare system. We are active members of the society and the community, and it’s important for us to speak out.

“I think what’s going to propel us forward is going to be male allies. We noticed that, whenever men advocated for women, they actually were able to promote women for higher positions and higher pay. But when women advocated for diversity and promoting other women, they either got lower raises or it didn’t happen. This shows that men can help narrow the gap of the inequities of women. More men are realizing the stresses that their female colleagues undergo, particularly in this pandemic, and they re reaching out to help.

What measures are UT Southwestern and the Department of Health taking to ensure more equal and fair treatment and policies for everyone?

SK: “We’ve had grand rounds presentations for our department—the university is taking it very seriously. To promote the environment of inclusion, there are various diversity initiatives that have been explored and deployed by the university, even within our department—our Women in Medicine committee was formed, and Dr. Sasha lick is heading the Diversity, uity and Inclusion committee within our Department of eurology. he department is doing a lot to promote a more inclusive environment like talking about it and promoting and recruiting a more diverse workforce.

Interview Varun Trivedi

What are some of the more physically apparent differences between male and female practitioners, like wage gaps?

SK: “While the gap is closing, there are still pay gaps, both within our own institution and nationally.

Why is there still inequity in pay? Part of that could be because there are fewer women in leadership roles, where people get paid higher and get more opportunities to pursue other higher-paid careers.

31

Section II: III:Vidimus Vicimus // Divider Climate Change

section ii: we saw vidimus Science is often seen as homogenous. STEM students boast their subjects’ lack of gray area, linearity, and strict objectivity — science conglomerates and, indeed, homogenizes in one direction or the other. There is only the “right” answer and then, well, everything else.

Frankly, there’s nothing especially wrong about this mindset — for the most part, STEM subjects tend to be very black and white, in a good way. There is, however, something wrong with the understanding of science that this mindset fosters. The objectivity that young people are perceiving STEM to embody discourages original thought and blunts the thrilling edge of the scientific process. Because beyond the high school level, science frays — it diverges in every direction — far beyond the blacks and whites that constrain the high school classroom, into a gray, unfamiliar void. This void is where science truly begins.

This section hopes to capture a sense of individuality in the scientific community and highlight cases of meaningful exploration beyond the classroom and into the aforementioned void. As well, this section plays on the idea of perspective, covering topics of psychology and the brain.

"The magnitude of science really puts everything into perspective. I mean, we study stars 1700 times larger than the sun in astronomy, and we learn about organisms that are mere micrometers in length in biology. In that grand perspective, you really start to see the scope of science."

Luke Noack

Class of 2023

24 32 / The Scientific Marksman

Perspective: Jordan Gaines '21

34

Blue Light

36

Perspective: Rahul Banerjee '21

38

Animals and Music

40

Perspective: Jacob Bell '21

42

Mask Interactions

44

Supplement: Mask Interactions

46

COVID and the Brain

48

Pharmaceutical Industry

50

Supplement: Pharmaceutical Industry

52

25

Section II: Vidimus / Perspective: Jordan Gaines '21

Python. Java. C++. Ruby. Computer science comes in a variety of different coding languages, each one with its own specialties. When Senior Jordan Gaines saw room for improvement in the field, he started the lofty project of creating his own, unique coding language.

perspective:

jordan gaines

34 / The Scientific Marksman

For the past four years, I have been working on developing my own programming language, Whirlwind. At this point, I am on the third major version of the compiler, the program that turns Whirlwind code into an app you can run — this means that I have rewritten the compiler three times. I anticipate that the current version will be the final one.

I wanted to try to design a language that minimizes the time between thinking of how you want your program to run and actually writing it down. I wanted it to be clear, concise, and elegant but still have enough structure to be consistent, performant (runs fast and uses memory e ciently , and most importantly, debuggable. Some say that the majority of time programming is not actually spent writing code but reading it.

Whirlwind is designed to be free of clutter while still being verbose enough to help the reader understand the exact behavior of the program. Whirlwind strives to protect the programmer from themselves (preventing them from making too many careless but often costly mistakes while allowing them to get down to business with minimal “compiler-negotiating.” Most importantly, Whirlwind strives to avoid bloat at all costs: many languages try to do or be too many things at once and end up packed with far too many, often con icting features. Instead, Whirlwind provides several larger, more sophisticated features that can be adapted to a number of use-cases, so you only have to understand one big idea as opposed to a bunch of little, specific ideas.

I was originally inspired to begin this project by curiosity: I had been programming for barely a month, and I was fascinated by the idea of a compiler. I wanted to know how they worked, and I wanted to know how to “design a programming language.” As I worked on the compiler and various other projects, I grew as a programmer, and I began to realize that I could use this language to do something more. It evolved into the project that it is today."

"

" Coding is like thinking except you have to show your work.

35

Section II: Vidimus / Blue Light

blinding blinding light Diving into the often overlooked effects that excessive artificial light has on the human body.

36 / The Scientific Marksman

s new technology continues to develop and new devices grab our attention for even longer, we are exposed to more blue light. Blue light is a type of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. While some forms of blue light, such as the ones in sunlight, can be beneficial, artificial blue light exposure through indoor sources, such as lighting and screens, can be harmful to our bodies.

A typical student’s night will be spent on a device, checking Snapchat streaks, watching Instagram stories or browsing through Youtube. When it’s time to finally get some rest, however, falling asleep becomes tedious; and in the morning, it is common to be met with strained eyes, fatigue or even a migraine. The reason for this uncomfortable result is blue light.

Blue light is a short wavelength, high energy light that is a type of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. We are exposed to this blue light throughout the day, with the sun being the primary source of this exposure. In fact, the blue light emitted from the sun scatters around the atmosphere more than the other colors of the visible spectrum due to its short wavelength, making the sky blue. The natural blue light that is emitted from the sun is actually beneficial. his type of blue light elevates mood, boosts alertness, and helps humans wake up energized. It helps regulate sleep-wake cycles, also

A

known as a circadian rhythm. circadian rhythm is defined as a biological cycle that repeats every 24 hours or so. In the case of sleep, this rhythm is controlled by a group of around 20,000 neurons called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, also known as SCN. This cluster of neurons is housed in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that is connected to the eyes. Since the SCN receives information directly from the eyes, it will make decisions on hormone production and core temperature based on the amount of incoming light. For example, at night, where there is less light, the SCN begins production of melatonin, the hormone that makes humans feel drowsy at night.

This attraction to light has been crucial for survival in the past, but as technological advances continue to introduce more sources of light, this rhythm becomes meddled.

Blue light emitted from artificial sources can heavily disrupt the circadian cycle. Even though the amount of blue light emitted from technological devices and other indoor sources is far less than the sun, the proximity of one s eyes to these artificial sources of blue light for extended periods of time becomes a problem for the human body. While all light sources affect sleep-wake schedules, blue light has a much more significant effect on preventing

one from falling asleep. And while some people may not mind sleeping late, research suggests that disrupting our natural circadian rhythm may lead to the development of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. rtificial blue light can also have significant effects on our eyes. Exposure to blue light can become a cause for digital eye strain as well as vision loss.

Digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome, is a group of vision-related problems resulting from the prolonged use of technology. This problem affects adults and children alike, becoming the cause of a loss of productivity and productive learning. ccording to a study by the aiser amily oundation, “children and teenagers ages spend more than 7 hours a day consuming electronic media . In accord, the time children spend playing outside is almost e uivalent to the time they spend looking at technology indoors. The retinas of young children s eyes do not fully develop before the age of , and since more than of children aged - have had some kind of technology exposure, this raises some concern on how to prevent permanent eye damage.

In addition to digital eye strain, blue light can lead to vision loss over time. s we age, we start to lose amounts of melanin, the pigment that is present

within our skin and eyes. This loss of melanin makes us more susceptible to eye diseases and permanent eye damage caused by digital eye strain.

The methods that can be used to minimize the effects of blue light are pretty simple. irst, it is necessary to expose the body and eyes to more natural blue light than artificial blue light. Instead of sitting at a desk and staring at a screen, taking walks with friends, participating in physical activity outdoors or just basking in the warm sunlight are all possible methods of exposure. voiding looking at technology two to three hours before sleeping, especially in the dark, prevents sleep loss. Blue light glasses are a viable option, eliminating much of the suppressing effect of light on melatonin production and allowing people who work late into the night to fall asleep.

Blue light ma orly affects our rhythms and patterns. Students not only have busy schedules that often result in a lack of sleep but also also have to stare at blue-light-emitting screens for hours at a time. itigating the effects of blue light is essential for the protection of both scholars and professionals in the long run.

Story Brandon Song, Morgan Chow Photo Evan Lai

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Section II: Vidimus / Perspective: Rahul Banerjee '21

Bioengineering is advancing at a rapid rate in the 21st century, with revolutionary technologies like the bionic pancreas and the MRI. Senior Rahul Banerjee took on the growing industry by researching potential deficiencies in one such device, a wristwatch that can detect heart disease.

perspective:

rahul banerjee

38 / The Scientific Marksman

When I was at a medical conference in Denver, I saw a company, LIVMOR, demonstrating the uses of a medical watch. After looking into it in detail, I saw how ama ing the technology was and how beneficial it could be. trial ibrillation a-fib is, essentially, an irregular heart rhythm that can cause strokes and other negative health conse uences. ffecting more than , people in the S each year. -fib strikes randomly and has no cure the best way to fight against a-fib is to detect it early and take preventative measures.

The LIVMOR watch uses ppg waves (photoplethysmographic to calculate changes in blood volume in the wrist for monitoring heart rate variability remotely in users. o check for a-fib, the wearable detects heart rate in users throughout the day if a-fib is detected, the watch alerts the user’s primary care physician.

Because the watch uses ppg waves (essentially light waves and light can have di culty penetrating more pigmented skin, the watch’s data could have potentially been inaccurate. y specific task was to research if the watch worked well with high specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy for all skin tones. After observing the results of the watch with multiple different demographics, I was able to conclude that the wearable used a robust algorithm to provide su cient data.

I have a family of doctors—my mom, my dad, and my sister. his background definitely pi ued my interest in medicine. However, I wanted to go about it in a different way. o me, bioengineering is a realm of innovative solutions. So, while I’ll still go down the premed route as an undergraduate student, I’d love to do research related to bioengineering in college."

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" These fields— biotechnology, biostatistics, and bioengineering —I think they are the future.

39

Section II: Vidimus / Animals and Music

aunsiimal

m

40 / The Scientific Marksman

cality

People’s tastes in music vary greatly, from 90's hip-hop classics to hard rock. But what about animals'? f there’s something that almost all students have in common, it’s headphones and Spotify. A major component of many events, music has become an integral part of human entertainment, from acting as the lively spirit of parties to encompassing formal performances of orchestras. With the development of music, genres and styles have been formed, categorizing music into time periods and places of origin have helped people organize their favorite tastes. However, even in musical sciences, research on music s effect on humans has always dominated the spotlight, with musical perception in animals largely unexplored. This lack of investigation begs the question: do animals also have tastes in music?

Or is musical taste just a social construct?

Professional piano teacher and animal-lover Cheryl Chen argues that animals adapt their musical taste based on their surroundings, much like humans. In fact, some animals don’t even have a specific “taste.

“It depends of course on the animal, hen said.

“It s like human beings--some have interest in music and others don’t. So [for animals,] it’s the same thing too. It really depends on the individual.

Chen’s previous dog, a Chihuahua called “ epper, was among those who did have a taste in music. “ epper was special, hen said. “She liked classical music and Christian pop music. She hated [the musical group] ABBA, you could see her ‘frowning.’

Definitely no metal, hard rock, any of that. epper s choice of music was largely in uenced by her environment — with piano students coming every day, classical music was almost always playing.

However, despite less exposure to it, Pepper developed a liking towards Christian pop, suggesting that dogs do have tastes and an awareness of pitch.

According to Dr. Stanley Coren, Professor Emeritus of psychology at the University of British Columbia, canines seem to be able to differentiate pitches, enabling them to hear music much like humans do. “ ecordings of wolves have shown that each will change its tone when others oin the chorus, oren said. “ o wolf seems to want to end up on the same note as any other in the choir.

However, unlike human music, some canines have been found to prefer dissonance in pitch, appreciating a variety of notes instead of intricate harmonies that humans focus on. “ his is why a dog howling along with a group of singing humans is instantaneously noticeable, oren said. “He is deliberately not in the same register as the other voices, and seems to revel in the discordant sound he is making.

As a result, many experts in the past came to the conclusion that dogs don’t howl to produce “music like humans do. ecently, this has been met by reports clashing with this claim, and supporting Chen’s reasoning of animal personality. A notable instance of this was Dan the bulldog, who’s owned by eorge obinson Sinclair, the organist at Hereford Cathedral in London. “ Sinclair was a friend of Sir dward illiam Elgar, [who] developed a fondness for Dan because he felt that the dog had a good sense of musical

I

uality, oren said. “Dan would fre uently attend choir practices with his master, and would growl at choristers who sang out of tune, which greatly endeared him to the composer.

In addition to recognizing intonation, dogs have been reported to recognize musicians’ repertoires as well. In the case of Pepper, she associated certain pieces of music to specific people. onse uently, when one of Chen’s students, Sean, began playing a piece Pepper often played by another student, Zephen, she began to get confused.

“So Sean was playing a piece by Debussy that ephen , another one of my students, played, hen said. “It was a group class and ephen wasn t home yet and Pepper was just relaxing, so when Sean played the piece, Pepper was like ‘Why is he playing this piece?’ and she would run around and come nudge and smell Sean and go like, ‘How come he s playing this piece hat s not his piece

"Dan the bulldog would frequently attend choir practices with his master, and would growl at choristers who sang out of tune."

Stanley Coren

Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Despite the unique and personal nature of animals, hen is confident that the environment is a key factor to the development of their tastes.

“I think the animals can definitely be trained to understand musical tastes , hen said. “If you expose them from young, they can definitely adapt to whatever music you re listening to.

So do animals actually have musical taste? While current research in the field is far from complete, through many instances of musically-aware animals, some animals have evidently developed human-like tastes. hether it s the pitch identification of Dan the bulldog, or the piece recognition of Pepper the Chihuahua, there have been multiple noteworthy instances of musical awareness in animals. And, while animals may not have headphones or Spotify, with surrounding environments and senses of pitch, animals, too, can develop musical tastes.

Story Aaron Liu, Isaac Song Graphic Morgan Chow

Upper School Orchestra cellist Aadi Khasgiwala has observed striking differences in responses to his practice sessions from his two dogs. “ ne of my dogs, eo, comes into the room when I’m playing [the cello] and sometimes falls asleep to the music, hasgiwala said. “ exi, on the other hand, immediately leaves the room when I pick up my cello.

Along with research into canines, animals using music for coordinated signaling have been observed exhibiting “human-like musical taste as well. uch like Dan the bulldog, Chen recalls a parakeet who would judge her student’s playing quality during piano lessons.

“I used to keep a parakeet, and whenever the student was playing well, you could hear the parakeet go ‘kee-kee,’ chirping and muttering along contently, hen said. “But if they weren t playing well, she would just start squawking. She didn’t like that at all, and she didn’t like things like [etude] exercises; she s uawked at that. rom scientific studies on birds and their vocal behaviors, UCLA Department of Communication member Gregory Bryant has deduced that birds, parakeets included, have distinct musical choices encompassing rhythm in addition to pitches.

“Birds that engage in vocal mimicry have been shown to be capable of highly coordinated responses to music and rhythmic images, Bryant said, “and will even attempt to ignore behaviors around them produced by agents who are not in sync with the stimulus to which they are coordinated.

While some birds work to ignore displeasing sounds, others are unafraid to express their opinion, boldly declaring their thoughts to their owners.

From Chen’s experiences with students, she’s seen very picky parakeets who are so attuned to human musical quality, that they were well suited to act as piano mentors themselves.

“I have a student right now and he also has a parakeet and if he’s playing [etude] exercises from beginning to end and he’s moving his hands where it doesn’t sound choppy or harsh, then the birds are uiet, hen said. “But if he s ust pounding on it and he s making a mess they start s uawking.

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Section II: Vidimus / Perspective: Jacob Bell '21

Last May, Senior Jacob Bell began a project that many only dream of: constructing a rocket engine. With the equipment of the St. Mark’s Makerspace and the support of the science department, he knew he could rise to the challenge.

jacob bell

perspective:

42 / The Scientific Marksman

Building a liquid rocket engine has always seemed to me like one of the most complex engineering challenges that I could tackle as a high school student; given all of the complexities involved, this has proven to be true. The math needed to complete basic engine calculations was actually quite simple—I had learned everything that I needed to know by junior year—and most of the work has gone into the physical design and fabrication. The engine is fueled by gaseous oxygen and liquid gasoline (octane), and, when completed, should produce approximately fifty pounds of thrust.

Most of the components have been machined on the school’s 3-axis CNC mill and CNC lathe out of various metals, and several thousands of dollars have been devoted to highly specialized plumbing components. Michael Gilliland, St. Mark’s graduate and current SpaceX employee, has provided priceless consulting help, as have many members of the science department.

As far as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed building and designing things. My grandfather was always into engineering and science, and my parents always encouraged it. When I went to Florida, I saw the Blue Angels—I was blown away by the precision needed for such maneuvers and appreciated what a technical feat was needed to make such fighter ets even exist.

Visiting the Johnson Space Center in Houston helped convince me that I was really interested in rockets.

As the president of the rocketry club, I’ve really developed an interest for all things rocket science, and I’m planning on pursuing aerospace engineering at Purdue University this upcoming fall."

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" People like to

claim things 'aren't rocket science.' But what’s so bad about rocket science?

43

Section II: Vidimus / Mask Interactions

speaking our eyes our eyes with

Masks fundamentally changed the way people interact with one another, but to what extent does covering only two body parts have on our social psychology?

44 / The Scientific Marksman

aised eyebrows for disapproval. Clenched teeth for nervousness. Squinted eyes for pensiveness. Over forty-two muscles exist in the human face, twisting, contorting, and contracting unendingly to portray a wide variety of emotions.

Being able to show the effects of all of these muscles is essential for connecting with each other. ace masks, without a doubt, heavily affect how we communicate with other people. In general, humans tend to process whole faces rather than individual features, which makes masks a big hindrance to both conveying and understanding information.

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But since masks will continue to be essential for the foreseeable future, it is important to understand more about how to get around this barrier and better communicate during the pandemic.

With her experience as a psychologist and student of the brain and behavior, St. Mark’s counselor and therapist Dr. Mary Bonsu had much to say on this topic.

“In terms of communication, about 90% is non-verbal and 10% is verbal,” Bonsu said. “You’ve got to read people’s lips and sort of put together the combination between the sounds you’re hearing and the facial expressions. So, miscommunication with masks is quite a thing.”

What’s more, everyone is operating with a slight hearing loss because of the mu ing with the masks as such, change must be made.

“In order to work around restrictions, people are...slowing down their speech, enunciating more, and also speaking at a higher register than before,” Bonsu said. “They’re trying to elevate their voice so that they can be heard beyond the mask.”

Face masks have also made it much harder to understand emotions due to a lack of facial tells.

According to a 2020 study by the Department of General Psychology and Methodology at the University of Bamberg in ermany, masks significantly lowered a person’s ability to read the true emotions of a person. “For instance, all emotional states with the exception of fearful were repeatedly confused with a neutral state,” stated the study. “Sad was often confused with disgusted and neutral, and angry was confused with disgusted, neutral and sad.”

Overall, emotion recognition was strongly reduced with the exception of fearful and neutral faces.

Face masks will also complicate social interaction as they hinder emotional reading from facial expression and as Bonsu notes, a lack of expression will cover the mouth — a body part vital for expressing feelings of happiness.

“People are exaggerating their smiles a little bit more to make it very obvious that they’re smiling,” Bonsu said. “There’s the eyebrows, the scrunching up of the higher part of your face and the change to the cheekbones. Overall, it's the concept of ‘smiling with your eyes,’ and I think it should be more commonly utilized — even without masks.”

In Bonsu’s professional experience, she has seen the positive effect of smiles. Her former place of work placed a huge emphasis on letting people know you re smiling so much that they offered employees the opportunity to take a picture with their smiling face, which would be made into a

button and put on their uniforms. “[My old employers] found that [smiles were] something the children really wanted [at the start of the pandemic],” Bonsu said. “They looked at the button and were like, ‘Okay, this is what this person looks like when they’re smiling.’ Then, they have that reference for what the person would look like without the mask.” ith face masks, therapists can have di culty understanding their patients as they seek to help them work through their problems.

"Overall, it's the concept of ‘smiling with your eyes,’ and I think it should be more commonly utilized — even without masks."

Mary Bonsu

Upper School Counselor

face.”

As the pandemic continues, face masks look unlikely to leave anytime soon. Given that reality, Bonsu urges people to stay calm and try to be genuine.

“To brave this storm, we have to be sure to pay attention to our breathing and the way that the air goes in and out,” Bonsu said. “It’s important to be mindful of [our[ level of strain or stress versus calmness and relaxation. And then, of course, eyebrows, facial expressions, gestures and using the parts of you that are visible will govern how we connect with each other — and that’s ok, so long as we remember to relax and help one another out.”

Story Arjun Agarwal, Kevin Lu Photos Evan Lai (left), Ekansh Tambe (bottom)

“When [therapists] don’t know someone and their expression repertoire very well yet,” Bonsu said, “they don’t know if they’re actually smiling, if their words betray their tone or if their tone betrays their words.”

Since it’s much harder to catch, she recommends that people use a lot more words and ask a lot more questions. While she emphasizes the importance of listening, it has its own shortcomings.

“Just really trying to listen to the tone of their voice [is hard],” Bonsu said. “you can’t see their

Ms. Kate Wood's Lower School drama class sits outside the Chapel, socially distanced, to enjoy lunch.

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Section II: Vidimus / Supplement: Mask Interactions

Freshman Jackson Pennington and junior Michael Gao bump elbows on the Perot Quadrangle.

Photo Tamal Pilla

"All I want to do is give someone a proper handshake— is that really too much to ask for?"

— Michael Gao '22

Section II: Vidimus / COVID and the Brain

rai

COVID & the

rai

While many of COVID-19’s symptoms match those of common illnesses like the flu, the coronavirus affects a different part of the body as well: the brain.

oss of smell. Fatigue and muscle weakness.

Lack of taste.

In the current age of the coronavirus, many people know these as obvious symptoms of COVID-19. Whether it’s through personal experience or a uick oogle search, these symptoms are practically synonymous with the virus. However, these impairments actually constitute the milder portion of the devastating effects that the coronavirus can have on a critical organ: the brain.

Despite mainly targeting the lungs and the heart, COVID-19 also impacts parts of the nervous system. s a result, researchers have pushed to answer the uestion of how ID- affects the brain. hat is the virus s impact on the brain, and to what extent does it in uence individuals Since COVID-19’s main targets are the lungs and other respiratory organs, the virus was previously thought to primarily damage the brain through hypoxia — otherwise known as oxygen deprivation.

However, recent studies have revealed slight differences that suggest hypoxia isn’t the sole reason for brain damage in COVID-19 victims. According to he Harvard a ette, va- aria atai, an investigator in the Department of adiology at Harvard edical School and senior author of a study on brain damage caused by ID- , found that neurological symptoms include mild symptoms like loss of smell but also more severe ones like strokes and seizures. The results from the experiment suggest injuries similar to those of white matter damage, a currently incurable disease that increases stress on neurons. The group has conducted some basic research but are still not completely sure about the extent of this damage and hope to expand the

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48 / The Scientific Marksman

research in the near future.

“We were interested in characterizing the biological underpinnings of some of these symptoms, atai said. “ oving forward, we are also interested in understanding long-term lingering effects of ID- , including headaches, fatigue, cognitive impairment and other impairments that have been found to persist long after the acute phase.

Dr. aya rivedi, a rofessor in the Department of eurology at Southwestern edical enter and Senior arun rivedi s parent, expanded on the various brain-related symptoms of COVID-19.

“Common associations include altered sense of smell and taste, muscle aches, headache, di iness, confusion, and delirium, rivedi said. “ ess commonly, people can develop more severe complications such as stroke and sei ures. Sometimes, people can develop in ammation of the brain, which happens in meningoencephalitis nerves, which happens in uillain-Barre syndrome or spinal cord, which happens in myelitis.

While there’s still a lot unknown about COVIDs impact on the brain, according to Diagnostic Imaging, a three-stage classification system has been proposed by Dr. a id otuhi, the medical director of euro row Brain itness enter and lead author of a comprehensive review of COVID-19’s effects on the nervous system. he first stage involves milder neurological symptoms, mainly revolving around cells in the nose and mouth. any of the better known ID-

symptoms fall under this category such as smell and taste reduction in victims. These symptoms are the most common of the three stages and have been found to occur in roughly half of COVID-19 victims.

The second stage of the neurological framework centers around in ammation, which starts in the lungs and can spread throughout all of the organs.

These symptoms generally encourage blood clot formation and increase the likelihood of strokes in individuals when brain tissue is targeted. astly, the final stage consists of the most severe and life-threatening effects. eurological complications classified in this category cause a cytokine storm an explosive in ammatory response in the brain that breaks the barrier separating the

brain from the blood around it. This often results in bodily debris, including viral particles, to enter parts of the injured brain, leading to seizures and coma in victims.

Falling into this third stage includes psychosis and encephalitis, two symptoms that strongly confirm the presence of COVID-19’s impact on the brain.

What’s more, scientists have begun to see a few patterns emerge, including a tradeoff between respiratory and neurological symptoms in many individuals. mong the neurological effects observed include strokes and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a condition where brain and spinal cords are simultaneously in amed and lead to the immune system eating away at the protective covering of nerve cells. Some patients who were severely attacked by these neurological symptoms only had mild respiratory symptoms in turn.

Despite all the disagreements and confusion going on about COVID-19’s neurological impacts, scientists have been able to agree upon one thing: the neurological symptoms are very unlikely to be a result of viral invasion. According to a TheScientist article, Massachusetts General hospital disease specialist Shibani Mukerji has observed low RNA concentrations in the brains under research. “[Because the low RNA concentration] seems out of proportion to the profound deficits that people are experiencing,” Mukerji said, “I’d be extremely surprised if the majority of cases where people are having neurological symptoms are due to direct viral invasion.”

Yes, recent research has uncovered the dangerous and extensive effect that IDhas had on infected individuals. But in spite of the vast gaps that researchers continue to work to fill, completed studies have been able to outline a better picture of the current situation. As the research in this area progresses, the scientific world is trying to work towards answering a new, more important question: how can we improve current treatments? While the more severe symptoms of COVID-19 are far from being cured, Dr. Steven Galetta, the chair of NYU Langone’s Department of Neurology, has found possible solutions to aid and minimize these neurological effects.

“Our study results suggest that physicians need to be more aggressive in stabili ing body oxygen levels in patients with COVID-19 as a potentially key therapy for stopping, preventing and/or possibly reversing neurological problems,” Galletta said according to ScienceDaily.

According to Trivedi, a focus on preventing the transmission of COVID-19 is still essential to combat the virus s effects on the brain.

“The key to reducing neurological complications is vaccinating communities and following safety precautions as recommended by the CDC,” Trivedi said. “Any treatment is largely contingent on lessen-

ing virus transmission in the community.”

Story Aaron Liu Graphic Jeremy Yu, Varun Trivedi, Tamal Pilla

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Section II: Vidimus / Pharmaceutical Industry

market market medicine for

Domestic pharmaceutical companies continue to be accused of prioritizing financial gain over public health. Will drug prices keep going up?

50 / The Scientific Marksman

9 dollars. That’s the initial price for the ID- vaccine, as set by fi er and BioNTech. Experts, however, forecast a sharp rise in price orbes aga ine speculates a possible final cost of - , per two-dose regimen. et, this is not the first time a life-saving drug s price has skyrocketed. According to NBC News, diabetes, depression and even cancer drugs have seen rising prices in recent years. esearch and development costs are widely cited as the obstacle to lowering drug prices. “ harmaceuticals do the most research and development even outside the S government, former fi er sales representative and current ovo ordisk district manager Sonia oorthy said. “In order to sustain a business around development and research, drug prices are a little more costly. oreover, while many drugs don t survive all three phases of clinical trials, even failed drugs cost money to develop. large portion of D costs are simply failed drugs. In fact, most drugs never generate profit for companies only out of , compounds becomes an approved drug, only of approved drugs break even, and only of profitable drugs help cover the cost of unprofitable research, according to pharmacy expert Dr. mudhome gbru in a edicine et article. nd then, even after this, it needs approval from the D . ll of these processes are costly.

High prices inhibit some from fully benefiting from the drug. ccording to he tlantic, other countries citi ens spend as much as their merican counterparts for the same drug. epresentative Colin Allred (D-TX), who represents the Dallas metroplex in the nited States House of epresentatives, opposes these high drug prices.

“In the richest and powerful nation on the earth, llred said, “no one should have to go without the lifesaving medicines they need ust because they can t afford them. dditionally, the company that spends the most

3

money on D domestically, ma on, is not a pharmaceutical and operates on a smaller profit margin than most high D-cost pharmaceutical companies. In fact, pharmaceutical companies who rank within the top in D costs have a profit margin four times higher than ma on. ccordingly, domestic pharmaceuticals often get ccused over prioriti ing financial gains over public health. However, if drugs truly were easy to produce, competition would inevitably bring prices down. oreover, many pharmaceuticals, oorthy vouched, value “ financial and health gains as e ually important. In tackling the problem of insu cient income, “every company has programs for patient assistance based on your income level, oorthy explained. So while prices may be high, they alone do not bar low-income groups from essential healthcare drugs. urthermore, there are many other factors working to promote access to drugs pharmaceutical companies alone are not the problem. Insurance companies play a big role in determining the price of medications, as they end up doing most of the negotiating of the prices and charging consumers. eanwhile, debates occur in ashington D over what the government could do with increasing drug prices. ombating high-drug prices is a bipartisan issue overall however, many disagreements spar over how to execute this. llred supports the ower Drug osts ow ct, which got passed in the House of epresentatives in December of . he legislation would give edicare the ability to negotiate the price of drugs those prices would also be available to private insurers. urthermore, the maximum price of a drug would have a limit based on average prices in other countries. “ here s going to be less incentive, less motivation, oorthy said. “Someone s got to pick up the check to develop something, and if the government is like, no, you must do it for free, no one s going to do that.

Still, llred feels that the nited States can still be at the forefront of drug manufacturing.

“I believe that our pharmaceutical companies can continue to lead the world, llred said. “ o do that, we should continue to invest in the ational Institutes of Health so we can remain a global leader in the creation of groundbreaking new medicines.

In addition, there are competing agendas on apitol Hill for example, the food and beverage industry goes against making any progress on obesity. rimarily, oorthy worries about what would happen to the speed of the industry. “If you look at some of our governmental systems, the D , the IH or governmental health bodies, things ust don t move that fast because you have to go through a lot of red tape with the government. ith the ID- pandemic still at large, the controversy surrounding drug pricing has lately been focused on vaccine prices. sually, companies charge higher prices to fund their research. However, since the S government has supplied billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies such as fi er, oderna and ohnson ohnson to fund vaccine development, the ID- vaccine is currently free-of-charge. his is a result of federal funding and commitments that pharmaceutical companies have made to sell the vaccines on a not-for-profit basis. he pandemic has brought about multiple health complications, ranging from ID- hospitali ations to a deficiency of organ transplants. s more people find themselves in need of prescription drugs, the healthcare system needs to find ways to provide care to many people of various socioeconomic backgrounds.

Story Shaan Mehta, Ryan Park, Akash Ragunathan Photo Illustration Evan Lai Infographic Jeremy Yu

USA Drug Prices v.s. Other Countries $600 $500

Price

$400 $300 $200 $100 $0

Insulin (Diabetes )

Ibrance (Cancer) USA

Afinitor (Cancer)

Sprycel (Cancer)

Zytiga (Cancer)

International Average

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Section II: Vidimus / Supplement: Pharmaceutical Industry

"Companies understand that they can sell drugs to chronically ill people for any price that they want to."

— Brett Marsh '20, Type I diabetes patient

52 / The Scientific Marksman

Photo Ekansh Tambe, Tamal Pilla

53

Section III: Vicimus / Divider

we conquered section iii: vicimus

The world is ever-changing. The past two centuries alone have seen countless wars waged, revolutions quelled and nations extinguished. The very atmosphere breeds variation. One thing, however, is always present: the pursuit of scientific conquest. But, while perennially existent, this pursuit is never constant. More and more young scholars are turning to science, whether spurred by childhood difficulties or the raw desire to invent. This augmented involvement in the STEM world engenders a sense of hope for the future by generating solutions to vastly complicated challenges. This section hopes to capture a glimpse into contemporary scientific achievement as revealed through various endeavors to improve the common welfare. Additionally, this section seeks to offer guidance on conquering critical hurdles of the present.

"The bounds of scientific accomplishments are limitless. Machines can scan brain activity, computers can predict the future, and humans can go to the Moon. I don't even know how that stuff's possible."

Luis Garcia

Class of 2021

54 / The Scientific Marksman

Abhi Jain: Hand Sanitizer Project

56

Diets

58

Supplement: Wildfires

60

Wildfires

62

Artificial Intelligence

64

Supplement: PPE

66

Personal Protective Equipment

68

Gene Editing

70

Deep Brain Stimulation

72

Section III: Vicimus / Abhi Jain: Hand Sanitizer Project

helping hand hand With potentially toxic and irritating compounds in many hand sanitizer brands, a St. Mark’s student sought to invent a new, safer hand sanitizer.

56 / The Scientific Marksman

elaxing on a cruise, Abhi Jain lay there, content as the world passed by him.

Although cruise ships were hotspots of disease, Jain had trust in the myriad of hand sanitizers located in every crevice of the cruise ship.

In fact, those Purell hand sanitizers even claimed that they killed 99.99% of germs, and since Jain has not heard of anyone refuting that, he trusted Purell and its antiseptic ability.

But even with that many hand sanitizing stations and Purell’s bold claim of protection, Jain still saw so many people getting ill.

“I saw this man use the hand sanitizing station 10 times a day, yet people were still getting sick,” Jain said. “I thought, ‘that’s strange. Something was probably in the hand sanitizer.”

Thus, Abhi began his research in the summer of by finding the adverse side effects of certain compounds used commonly in non-alcoholic hand sanitizers today.

“I found myself,” Jain remembers “reading an article detailing the possible ban of a substance known as triclosan, found in many hand soaps and hand sanitizers. As of now, those products still contain this chemical, despite research suggesting that this chemical has multiple harmful side effects.

Jain had researched the side effects pertaining to benzalkonium chloride, another compound commonly used to replace alcohol in hand sanitizers.

“Benzalkonium chloride is still used today,” Jain said.

“However, researchers are suggesting that it is linked to neurological disorders.” lthough the effects of those compounds were minor at best, Jain was alarmed by the world’s increased usage of hand sanitizers due to the ongoing pandemic and the resulting increased exposure to these harmful compounds.

“What's shocking to me is that, given this coronavirus pandemic, there's just a lot more use

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of hand sanitizer each day. I mean, I see more people use hand saniti ers like five, six times a day. nd ust in my school. So, I think the side effects of these hand saniti ers will surely be magnified. ain theorized.

So, Jain made it his mission to make an affordable hand saniti er without all of the side effects. “ ow, the final goal of this pro ect is to get a patent and, ultimately, put it on the markets, but in order to do that you need to have good pricing for the chemical,” Jain said. “I think that the chemicals that are used in my hand sanitizer are both well-priced and e cient.

Even with the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, which might stop people from taking so many health precautions like using hand sanitizers on a daily basis, Jain still has confidence in the marketability of his hand sanitizer.

“Hand sanitizers were needed even before COVID-19,” Jain said. “They were actually used very often, and I am still optimistic, even with the development of these vaccines.”

However, Abhi mentioned that this will not be a walk in the park and even might be his greatest challenge. His hand sanitizer is health-oriented and therefore yields less profit compared to the hand sanitizers made by large corporations, which are more cost-e cient.

“I think once the public actually fully understands the complexity and the true need for other hand sanitizers that do not contain said ingredients, people will begin to look at other options from people like me, who are actually working into developing hand sanitizers without alcohol and without triclosan,” Jain said. “But until then, the process is going to be very di cult.

But even when up against such an arduous challenge, Abhi says that he could not have done this without his friends, colleagues and mentors, and most notably from the school's community.

St. Mark’s has played a vital role in developing his passion for science, a passion he aims to pursue in

college and beyond.

“In terms of St. Mark's, I worked with Dr. Flint, my 9th-grade biology teacher, and she was immensely helpful,” Jain said. “I actually took this project to a science fair, and she was my sponsor who helped refine my conclusion and my abstract and my research in general. St. Mark’s really works on the sciences, in a sense, we inspire the sciences in each one of our students. And I'd say St. Mark's has really been an integral part of my interest in science.”

Story Svanik Jaikumar, Michael Gao Photos Lars Ochs, Tamal Pilla

Non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers

A look at why the shift to non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers was made in the first place.

An alcohol-based hand sanitizer contains the namesake alcohol as its main ingredient. An alcohol is classified as a compound with at least one hydroxyl (OH-) group. Isopropyl alcohol and ethanol are commonly used in hand sanitizers. To give some background to the danger of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, we must first look at another member of the family, methanol. Methanol (CH3OH) has one central carbon with one hydroxyl group. When it enters the human body, it is metabolized, or modified, into formic acid. Formic acid (HCOOH) has a carboxylic acid group and is commonly referred to as methanoic acid.

Formic acid inhibits the enzyme cytochrome oxidase in mitochondria from functioning. To give more context, another more famous compound that causes this same problem is cyanide, which is very dangerous. Formic acid causes histotoxic hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen even when the red blood cells are functioning normally.

While we cannot assume that isopropanol and ethanol have the same effects as methanol, it is important to keep in mind its structure and the effects of other members of the compound family. Isopropanol and ethanol cause skin irritation and can be lethal if ingested in large doses, putting children at higher risk.

Increased usage of these compounds also induces antibiotic resistant microbes to amplify. Any bacteria or such pathogens that possess resistance will survive even after their susceptible comrades die. These bacteria will be the only ones to reproduce mitotically and thus a resistant culture has formed. These various issues caused the industry to look at the next best thing,

non-alcoholic hand sanitizers.

In response to the harm alcohol poses, some companies today use benzalkonium chloride as a substitute. Benzalkonium chloride is a cationic surfactant, meaning that it has a nonpolar tail but positively-charged head. A bacteria’s cell wall is composed of teichoic acid and peptidoglycan, which makes the cell walls negative. The positive charge of benzalkonium chloride allows it to attract and disrupt the bacteria’s cell wall, making benzalkonium chloride an antiseptic. However, the phospholipid bilayer of our skin cells is also negatively charged, meaning benzalkonium will also damage skin through prolonged exposure.

Although the effects of benzalkonium chloride and triclosan are minor and just irritating, the increased usage of hand sanitizers and wipes during this pandemic has increased the dosage and therefore the effects. Furthermore, these alternatives to alcohol have only been recently introduced. Scientists have not had ample time to come to conclusions about the side effects and are therefore forced to surmise over the potential harm or good that could come from triclosan and benzalkonium chloride.

While such uncertain situations might be commonplace in a casino or lottery, surely, much greater importance should be given when these situations arise in the healthcare industry, in which human lives are the bargaining chip, not money.

57

Section III: Vicimus / Diets

so many options options Different diets have different goals—many see them as quick ways to lose weight. To ensure proper nutrition and avoid negative health consequences, what should be done?

58 / The Scientific Marksman

orty-one percent of all American employees worked from home during the pandemic, according to Statista research expert Kimberly

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Mlitz. ith uarantines and lockdowns redefining daily life, the health and wellness industries went through significant changes. any people who work at home turned to at-home fitness, making use of pelotons, virtual yoga classes and more. Moreover, people adopted various eating habits. Whether owing to religion, health or other reasons, people around the world practice a variety of different food diets. rom ketogenic to paleolithic and vegan to vegetarian, each diet has its own merits.

On campus, junior Abhi Jain has been a vegetarian for his entire life.

“Being vegetarian means you abstain from eating meat,” Jain said. “This includes not eating meat, poultry and fish. I am a lacto-vegetarian. In other words, I can eat everything a regular vegetarian can except for eggs.”

People may choose to follow a particular diet for a variety of reasons. In bhi s case, he is a devout ain and eats a vegetarian diet to obey his religions principles of non-violence.

“One of the core values of my religion is non-violence in thought, mind and action — better known as ahimsa, ain said. “Because of this, I abstain from eating meat.”

Besides religious purposes like non-violence, many people have other reasons for following vegetarian diets. “ n xford study models five interventions to rapidly cut food s carbon emissions. he most effective, according to the authors, is the global adoption of a plant-rich diet,” Vox climate reporter Lili Pike wrote in a Vox article. “Reducing the consumption of animal products is critical because they have an outsize carbon footprint.”

Regardless of their intentions, because they cannot eat meat, vegetarians have to obtain protein from alternative sources. “ uch of the food I eat is in the form of lentils or different varieties of beans, ain said. “ entils compact high amounts of protein in small servings, making them a great source of nourishment. idney beans, black beans and chickpeas also offer excellent sources of protein. Tofu and soy also provide great sources of protein, and these can be incorporated into countless dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian.”

Additionally, many companies are producing plant-based meat substitutes, like the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, using soy, potatoes, pea, and other vegetarian foods.

While vegetarians have varied options in their main-course meals, they also find protein in different snacks. “ arious different nuts and seeds including cashews, almonds, peanuts, sun ower seeds and chia seeds — also provide a great form of sustenance,” Jain said. “There are countless ingredients, such as peanut butter, that one may add to foods to get protein.” any vegetarians suffer from a deficiency in iron and B-12, which are essential nutrients that are commonly found in meat. To compensate for that deficiency, ain has to look for these vitamins and minerals in other foods.

“Other than those two nutrients, all other vitamins can easily be found in a common vegetarian meal: fruits, vegetables, lentils, grains, dairy, etc,” ain said. “In order to obtain healthy amounts of B- , I drink milk and eat other dairy products. Iron can be found in grain such as quinoa, spinach (and other leaf vegetables), potatoes, tofu, various types of beans, nuts and fruits.”

Another challenge that vegetarians face is limited food options when they go out to eat in restaurants and hotels.

“I often see many more options for meat-eaters than for vegetarian options, ain said. “In this sense, I am limited in my food options. It s important to note, however, that many traditionally meat dishes can easily be made vegetarian by substituting one or two ingredients with a vegetarian alternative.”

Jain believes that Sage Dining Services and the school have done a good job providing him with unique and nutritious vegetarian meals to enjoy every day during lunch. “ iven the current situation, I have found the food options to be much more varied,” Jain said. “ lthough, in reality, I only have one option to eat each day, the quality of food has improved from last year for vegetarians.”

"The problem is the minute people start to add back in foods that they haven't been eating, they'll start to see a weight increase."

Julie Doerge

School Nurse

School nurse ulie Doerge explained the differences between the keto, paleo, vegan and vegetarian diets.

“The paleo diet is sometimes referred to as an ancestral diet. It s believed to align with foods that were eaten by early humans with the emphasis on

whole foods, including organic vegetables, fruits, grass-fed and naturally-raised meat, wild fish, eggs, nuts and seeds,” Doerge said. “It avoids processed foods and sugar, omits all grains, dairy products, beans and legumes. Proponents of the paleo diet believe that because these foods were introduced in the human diet much later in our history, the human digestive system is not well-equipped to break them down, contributing to digestive issues and food allergies.”

On the other hand, the keto diet includes low carbohydrates and high fats. People who eat keto replace most of their carbs with fats, such as from dairy.

“This puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis,” Doerge said. “Your body burns fat when it doesn't have enough glucose to use for energy. Over time, your body gets more e cient at burning fat for energy and turning fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain. This can lead to significant weight loss.

However, practicing the keto diet on a long-term basis can have negative health effects.

“While a lot of people have done it, I would say paleo is probably a little better for you overall just because it includes more things, [whereas] the keto diet over time is really not good for your heart muscles,” Doerge said.

However, it is important to note that diets are only temporary and that they are not sustainable.

“If people lose weight on these diets, then they would say that's an advantage,” Doerge said. “The problem is the minute they start to add back in foods that they haven't been eating, they'll start to see a weight increase.”

Prior to working at 10600 Preston Road, Doerge spent time working as a nutritionist.

“I would tell you that because I worked in a weight loss clinic for a year, people do really well [at those places] because they get told what to eat,” Doerge said. “And then the minute they go home and try to do it on their own, they don't.”

Since most diets exclude certain food groups, people will need to make sure that they find ways to meet all of their nutritional needs.

“Anytime you take food groups out of your diet, it's unsafe from a nutritional standpoint,” Doerge said. “If you go to a licensed nutritionist they're going to tell you to eat things from all the food groups to get the nutrients and the vitamins you need to keep a healthy body.

At the end of the day, Doerge simply suggests to remain safe while being productive whenever going on a diet.

“My family went on a plant-based diet called Forks Over Knives about two years ago for my husband's heart,” Doerge said. “If you look it up, you'll see that it is a balanced vegetarian diet, so it includes seeds and nuts and legumes for your protein. You can eat hummus, you can eat all vegetables and it's a no-oil diet because oil is what's bad for people with heart disease. ltimately , dieting definitely can have] its advantages.”

“In the long run,” said Jain, “dieting could prove to be remarkably advantageous — not only on a health level but also on a personal and environmental level — for all walks of life.”

Keto, vegetarian, and paleo (top to bottom) diets, while restrictive to short degree, offer a variety of options still within the parameters of the diet.

Story Jeffrey Chen, Griffin Goodno Graphic Shaan Mehta

59

Section III: Vicimus / Wildfires

Photo Tamal Pilla

60 / The Scientific Marksman

"The growing threat of wildfires makes me fear for the future of our world."

— Daniel Sanchez '21, environmental science student

61

Section III: Vicimus / Wildfires

in f ire f ire with

Every year, wildfires rage across the country, increasing in intensity and quantity.

Collectively, they burn millions of acres of land and endanger many lives. Can a look into the past give hope for the future?

62 / The Scientific Marksman

n , enormous wildfires ravaged over million acres of land in the estern nited States. massive effort composed of tens of thousands of firefighters was summoned to combat the ames, yet the fires still in icted almost billion of damages. orests burned. Buildings collapsed. eople died. he increase in wildfires in recent years has been partly attributed to inade uate forest management practices as well as other issues like climate change.

If the problems are known, why haven t they been solved o figure out how humankind can prevent more devastation, it s essential to understand the past.

During the time of estward xpansion in merica, lumber was a vital resource, for it was a source of warmth not only during the winter months but during any time of life. very home, building, railway, covered wagon, mine and essential structure was either composed of wood or used wood. Because of this necessity for lumber, it is no wonder the logging business boomed.

Because of the great demand for timber, loggers went full steam ahead on procuring as much wood as possible for all the hundreds of new towns sprouting up in the idwest and beyond, making short work of huge forests. t that time, people had no care for the environment and were simply unaware of the problems they were making for themselves. o these settlers expanding west, merica seemed to go on forever, so the natural resources seemed infinite. “ hese loggers would come in and cut down huge swathes of forests, hacking off the limbs of these trees and ust taking the trunks of the trees, leaving fields of stumps and dead limbs, environmental science instructor Dan orthcut said. “ hese limbs would cover the underbrush and kill that off too. In the end and in the wake of these log-

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gers, there would be fields and fields of deadwood wood prime for burning. hen trains and railroads were introduced to the est, the ash and soot from these coal-burning locomotives ew up into the air as the trains went by, and the embers landed in these places prime for burning and started an extraordinary amount of wildfires. “ s these fires started to develop, they would find more and more of these places full of burnable material, and so the fires would grow and grow, orthcut said. estward xpansion started far before , so all this kindling had many years to build up fires popped up all over the est, burning not only the forests but also huge swathes of the reat lains.

Since these times, people reali ed how dangerous fires could be, and once the ational orest Service was created, merica began to crack down on all fires everywhere. eople started paying more attention to wildfires and environmental conservation, and the ational orest Service protected forests from these abuses. he banning of all wildfires worked in the beginning, but the move also paradoxically caused more disastrous fires. ollowing the end of the s, people began to pay more attention and get more educated about wildfires, leading to fewer conagrations. he biggest example of this education is the iconic figure of Smokey the Bear, who taught people, especially children, about the dangers of wildfires and what started them. he problem was, however, that the ational orest Service stopped all wildfires. In nature, natural wildfires burn through areas periodically this phenomenon gets rid of all the dry brush and deadwood that has fallen to the ground and provides new, fertile soil for the plants to grow back in. However, since the ational orest

Service stopped all fires, this burnable underbrush layer kept building up. In areas where the ational orest Service could not control all the wildfires, they would have “fire seasons, but as the years went on and we got better at fighting fires, more areas went unburnt. lso, because some of these areas were guarded from fires by the ational orest Service, people started living in areas that re uired periodic burns, so the ational orest Service had an even greater incentive to stop these fires.

In the s, however, seventy years of dead brush buildup came to a culmination of massive fires whose intensity still occurs to this day. ven worse, because these fires are so massive, they ve been killing the old trees that normally survive these fires, decimating ecosystems. hese forests and plains will eventually come back in a century or two, but there are many who think that the ecosystems are gone forever. he ational orest Service has since learned that prescribed burns are a better way of handling things, but they cannot do anything about those who now live in very fire-prone areas. ost people do not know or understand the real point of prescribed burns to keep these environments alive and healthy and still think that all fires are bad, a product of a well-intentioned message yet subpar environmental education.

In order to tackle global warming, proper tree care is imperative including “healthy wildfires. hether tackling environmental education disparities or simply behaving responsibly in the wilderness, action needs to be taken to save our ecosystems.

Story Shaan Mehta, Ryan Park, Akash Ragunathan Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Infographic Jeremy Yu

Acres of Land Burned by Wildfires per year 10,200,000

8,160,000

6,120,000

4,080,000

2,040,000

0

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

63

Section III: Vicimus / Artificial Intelligence

smart

smart machines

As controversial as it may seem, artificial intelligence is likely bound to our future. However, its full impact on the labor market remains uncertain.

64 / The Scientific Marksman

ver the last decade, the increase in AI usage and development has skyrocketed. This shift has impacted the lives of many, and there are many great minds in our current society who believe that by 2029, supercomputers will be smarter than any human. This has resulted in a concern that a lot of people have for AI: “Will AI eventually turn on humanity?”

This quandary is called “Roko’s Basilisk,” an idea proposed by the user Roko on the Less Wrong community blog. This was more than just the concept of robots turning on humanity. (Editor’s Note: Read the rest of this paragraph at your own discretion; simply knowing the concept of Roko’s Basilisk potentially threatens your wellbeing). The article hinted at the idea that, in the future, artificial intelligence will exist that punishes those who knowingly did not help it come into existence. By knowing this, people find themselves in an impossibly di cult scenario — the only safe path is to be ignorant of the concept. Roko’s Basilisk, in turn with the explosive development of AI, has raised ample discussion among experts in the field.

Many large corporations have been looking to capitalize on the rapid expanse of AI. Companies such as Tesla, Google and Amazon are attempting to be on top of the AI train as it steamrolls the future. Tesla is already implementing Autopilot AI into their cars by using specialized hardware, neural networks, autonomy algorithms and code foundations. They plan to revolutionize the world with

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full self-driving as soon as possible. Google is using AI and other machine learning techniques to more quickly detect breaking news around natural disasters and crises around the world. Amazon is utilizing AI to predict purchasing trends and optimize its logistic speed and uality. Specifically, ma on plans to use AI to build a vast database of knowledge for extensive analysis, using data from sources that have previously been untouched.

However, the expeditious development of AI in recent years has also raised moral questions. Some people worry about what will happen after computers surpass human intelligence and how reliant on AI we would really be. Others say that AI and topics such as Roko’s Basilisk are not worrisome.

"These kinds of AI systems would be able to give us the best choices in situations where our emotions would come into play."

Gopal Gupta

Head, Department of Computer Science, UT Dallas

One of these people is Dr. Gopal Gupta, an Erik Jonsson Professor and the head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“As AI has become a household word, in my opinion, lots of people have made wild conjectures,” Gupta said. “[Roko’s Basilisk] is one of them.”

Gupta then went on to say that AI researchers

Artificial intelligence effect on job market Estimated net job creation by industry, 2017-2037 Health

Scientific and Technical

Communications

Hospitality

Education

Administrative and Support Services

Other Sectors

Wholesale and Retail

Construction

Financial and Insurance

Public Administration and Defense

Transportation and Storage

Manufacturing

-30%

in the field do not discuss topics like oko s Basilisk and that they’re no more than crazy speculations.

Gupta’s outlook on the future of AI is very positive.

He believes current machine/deep learning technologies have a multitude of uses such as preemptively detecting cancer.

As well, Gupta cites that regulations exist to prevent AI takeover. Current law surrounding artificial intelligence and machine learning include the Federal Legislation and Regulatory Action Bill and other bills that have the phrase “artificial intelligence” in their text. Some of these include the Position on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, the S and the , all of which the nited States employs as controls on artificial intelligence.

In the future, there are specific types of artificial intelligence that will be the most helpful to us.

“Achieving AGI, where the AI simulates an “infallible” human being, would be the most helpful,” Gupta said. “Although it is not totally clear what infallible should mean, such AI would be able to give the best advice in any given situation given that humans are not perfect and are in uenced by a multitude of factors such as our emotions. hese kinds of AI systems would be able to give us the best choices in situations where our emotions would come into play.” ther types of artificial intelligence that will be extremely useful to humans in the future are things that will be able to complete tasks that have a high

-20%

-10%

+10%

+20%

+30%

margin of possible human error.

“Weather prediction programs will be vital,” Gupta said. “As well, surgeries, cell detection, photography and travel are just some of the possibilities. As AI continues to be developed, space travel will become more realistic.”

While Roko’s Basilisk warns against the dangers of a society that revolves around AI, deep learning technologies have the potential to significantly benefit many different fields. he inevitable creation of true artificial intelligence will mark a monumental turning point in history, propelling humanity either toward a brighter future or its imminent doom.

Story Shaan Mehta, Harry Wang Photo Evan Lai Infographic Jeremy Yu

65

Section III: Vicimus / Supplement: Personal Protective Equipment

Wireframe rendering of SM Shields 3D-printed face shield.

66 / The Scientific Marksman

"We were sitting safe at home while people were out putting their lives on the line. We had to do something to help."

— Rikhil Manduva '21, SM Shields Founder

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Section III: Vicimus / Personal Protective Equipment

ndustry versus demand.

Worldwide, the prices of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) have been skyrocketing, forcing hospitals to get creative throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Mask hoarders exist, determined to make a profit, and widespread distribution raises several questions.

Luckily, robotics and 3D printing have found answers.

The 3D printer, during a regular year, is utilized to create various parts for different pro ects created by different engineering groups. Beginning with a simple computer-aided design (CAD), the printer can transform an idea into reality.

Coupled with the robotics team, the 3D printer can create virtually anything with the help of creative planning. This year, Marksmen took action into their own hands and produced essential protective gear. he plan to take action first began with senior Rikhil Manduva, who was spurred along by his previous humanitarian efforts.

“I’ve helped design rainwater catchers and things like that to give to low-income families in India,” Manduva said. “I wanted to continue that community aspect and continue giving back.”

It wasn’t long before he started putting a team together.

“Even if we have been at home, there are still a lot of people who have to go out and stay safe at their obs, anduva said. “In this situation, I knew that we could make really cheap face shields or face masks to distribute to those people.”

In searching for ways to help the community, Maduva and his team discovered they could print the protective gear.

“I think that we had seen reports from other makerspaces,” Makerspace Director Stewart Mayer, who served as an advisor throughout the pro ect, said. “A lot of students immediately wanted to oin in that maker movement to help.

Before long, the team started to make a design.

Although they could take any model off the internet, the team chose to create their own.

“We ended up making our own design that we thought was a nice compromise between quality, features and time it takes to print,” Mayer said.

The team then created a 3D CAD for the mask. To overcome the problem involving a lack of space for the 3D printers, the team found houses where the printers could be stored and used. “ e distributed our D printers to different members of the [school] community,” Mayer said.

“Some of them were robotics team members, and some were ust students that were really enthusiastic to help out.” fter that, printing was the final step.

“You could print on the machine anywhere from one to ten masks at a time depending on the machine,” Mayer said. “We painted the machines, loaded up the filament and ust kept printing nonstop around the clock.”

I

building masks for a community Working to supply frontline workers with PPE during the cruelest months of the pandemic, the St. Mark’s Robotics team has dedicated its efforts toward helping those in need.

68 / The Scientific Marksman

3D printing uses a variety of materials, the majority of which being various plastics. First, the material is heated and reduced to a liquid. Next, the paste is fired through a no le that places the material exactly in accordance to the D file s instructions. inally, the material solidifies, and the sections of the object are completed.

The result? A steady production of freshly made face shields, ready for use.

However, while 3D printing the shields took two hours per mask and was time-consuming, the steady, alternate source of e uipment was beneficial to the community.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, the whole world was kind of in shock,” Mayer said. “The industry was not able to meet demand, and so even being to help out at that slow pace was a real benefit to everybody.”

In the throes of the pandemic, however, hospitals still

had to carry on with daily operations, treating those in need regardless of the state of the world. Frontline workers, like those in major hospitals around Dallas, had to work. As such, Manduva certainly saw the benefits of his team s pro ect.

“Despite hospitals normally using their own saniti ed professional-grade e uipment, our produced face shields not only provided more protection but also were reasonable and more sanitary alternatives to re-wearing disposable masks,” Manduva said. “Overall, we were just happy to help.

In fact, through the efforts of the school s obotics team, over 200 face shields were donated to frontline workers in the city of Irving and around another 100 to the Methodist Dallas hospital. In total, from March to August of 2020, 750 face shields were printed for frontline workers.”

“At the end of the day, we gathered a lot of really smart kids who like making things and using the tools available to us to have an impact on the local community,” Manduva said. “In the future, I know that another group of robotics students will rise up to the challenge of their time and make good use of the resources available to them to make a difference in the world.”

Story Sampath Rapuri, Dawson Yao Photos Courtesy of Rikhil Manduva '21, Stewart Mayer

Senior Rikhil Maduva delivers St. Mark's face shields and masks to to the City of Irving (top), a metal cutter in the campus Makerspace is used to build parts of the face shield (middle), and a dentist at BMP Dental operates on a patient donning an SM Shields mask (bottom).

"At the end of the day, we gathered a lot of really smart kids who like making things and using the tools available to us to have an impact on the local community."

Rikhil Manduva

Founder, SM Shields

Instead of using the laser cutting tools and 3D printers to create the robot normally used in the B S obotics competition, the robotics team spent the summer helping their community in need of PPE; and although the two end products may seem diverse, the robotics team never felt as if they were doing something radically different. In an abnormal and chaotic year, the team simply did what it does best.

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Section III: Vicimus / Gene Editing

slice of life Gene editing and CRISPR technologies have exploded over the past decade, making the unimaginable imaginable.

However, how far will scientists take these new technologies?

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taking a slice of life ugenics has become the norm. Through in-vitro fertilization, parents are able to have “valid” children, born perfect, with health deficiencies like genetic predispositions to disease removed before birth. The “in-valids,” conceived naturally, dwindle in number and face heavy genetic profiling, incapable of rising in society due to the blood that ows in their veins. hile this world is that of attaca, a dystopian science-fiction film, it may be becoming more of a reality thanks to gene editing.

In 2012, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna recreated a part of bacteria’s immune system, CRISPR-Cas9, reprogramming it for easier use and control. This technology allowed humans to alter D directly, paving the way for gene editing to make an impact on humanity. In October 2020, harpentier and Doudna were awarded the obel Prize in Chemistry for their work in the discovery and development of the invention. This breakthrough, however, does come with its own social and moral dilemmas: How can the global use of this technology be regulated? What will be the most productive applications for CRISPR-Cas9? To what extent can gene editing be used to defy the randomness of nature hese are ust a few of the uestions that must be answered going forward.

Biology teacher Mark Adame explained that gene editing’s origins stem from a bacterial mechanism called CRISPR, which Charpentier and Doudna first replicated from the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes.

“It’s a way that bacteria go in and tag viral , then, using an en yme, match up with viral D and cut it out, dame said. “It s like having instructions to find keywords in a sentence, cutting them out and replacing them with something else.

It’s just like copying and pasting.”

IS - as is not the first form of gene editing that has been used. hat differentiates CRISPR-Cas9, however, is that in the past, scientists have been able to insert and add new genes but not eliminate genes.

“In the past decade, we've been able to use bacteria and viruses to insert genes, but we could not go in and remove genes that are already there,” Adame said. “We can use a harmless virus to insert a gene that hopefully can tag the organ or tissue that has the problem. It infects those cells with the proper D .

In 2011, Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, founder of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of athogens, discovered a key component of the CRISPR-Cas9 system in bacteria. While the as proteins had been identified previously, this

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discovery enabled her and Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, to isolate the system and demonstrate the ability to cut specific sites in D .

An example of the current uses of gene editing has to do with editing entire genomes. “They'll take an egg and remove the nucleus and all the D out of it, inject a new nucleus into it, and then take that egg and put it into shock and put it into a female.

Hopefully, she’ll take it and it’ll develop,” Adame said.

CRISPR already has a variety of large-scale uses in today s world. “Because it tags specific genes, you can tag specific se uences in an organism and cut those specific se uences out, dame said.

“Suppose there s a faulty gene se uence that causes muscular dystrophy. They can go in and tag the mutated muscular dystrophy gene, cut it out, and then insert the proper gene.”

Commercial large-scale applications of CRISPR have the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing and health industries.

“We've seen a British lab that has been able to alter mos uitoes that carry deadly diseases. hey re able to go in and genetically alter the mos uitos using CRISPR and then release them into the wild.

So when they go to mate, they become sterile,” Adame said. “There’s also gene editing in crops, which has been going on for a long time. They are able to insert a gene that makes them resistant to herbicides, so you can grow these crops and spray the crops with herbicide. And they'll still grow — they're resistant to it.” Similar to the example with mos uitos, the plant can also be infected with the bacterium that carries the gene to boost the plant’s immunity.

"If that technology is ever available, it will only be available to people who have the means and information to use it."

Mark Adame

Biology Teacher

he benefits of gene editing don t come without heavy moral and ethical uestions, however. abs in China have been researching CRISPR-modified babies, already using gene editing to produce HIV-resistant babies. This breakthrough, however, is raising a lot of uestions about further uses.

Mutations could be removed, intelligence could be tweaked, everything in a human body could be changed. Besides the concern about a loss of humanity, another resulting dilemma is that only certain people will have access to this technology.

If you could edit your DNA, what would you change?

Upper School students on how they might utilize CRISPR technology to modify their own genetic code.

"I would probably make myself taller. I don't know; I'm not exactly short, but I'm definitely on the shorter side of my grade. So I'd probably make myself taller, if that's how it would work."

Eyes - These genes are primarily responsible for our color vision OPN1SW, OPN1MW, and OPN1LW. Birds of prey and other animals with enhanced eyesight express these genes more than humans do; thus, it may be possible to target these genes in huamns with CRISPR, giving rise to super-HD vision.

Brain - More than 500 genes are known to be linked to intelligence. With CRISPR, the genome’s molecular scissors, scientists now hold the potential to alter someone’s intelligence.

— Miki Ghosh '22

"I would change my eye color to something unnatural like purple to freak people out and make them wonder whether they saw my eyes correctly."

— Ned Tagtmeier '21

"I would give myself a tail to slap people unexpectedly at random intervals. It would also look cool to balance on it for photos."

— Tomek Marczewsi '23

"I would want to absorb the sunlight and develop photosynthesis to never have to eat again."

Lungs - Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system, makes the body produce a thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, preventing you from breathing.

However, the gene responsible for this disorder has now been identified as the CFTR gene.

CRISPR holds the potential to alter this gene and cure cystic fibrosis.

— Isaac Song '22

“You're introducing a new variation of individuals in a population, and you don't know what the consequences are,” Adame said. “The other problem is if that technology is ever available, it will only be available to people who have the means and information to use it.” With genetically engineered babies, the wealthy will distinguish themselves further as the wealthy and create an even greater inequality gap between people in society.

The population of human beings is growing to the extent that it will surpass the carrying capacity of what the earth can sustain. “It's this targeting of social status, economic status, political status, etc. and not letting evolution take its course,” Adame said.

The world’s governments are still hesitant about CRISPR’s practical use even today—there are still many uncertainties and obstacles that lie in the way.

As research develops, however, the world may better grasp these issues and come to reasonable terms for not only the future of gene editing but also the future of humanity.

Liver - Once thought to be impossible to cure, hepatitis B, a serious liver disease that can result in permanent scarring of the liver, can now be cured with the help of CRISPR-Cas9 technologies. In a typical person, the viral DNA buries itself in the host genome, hiding from the immune system and therapeutic drugs. Now, CRISPR can target this foreign DNA and remove it from our genome, allowing the liver to potentially regain function and rid itself of the virus permanently.

Heart - People with coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis struggle with taking multiple medicines a day to stave off heart attacks from clotinducing cholesteol plaques on the sides of their blood vessels. Recently, however, new research has shown that CRISPR can switch off two genes that play a role in these disease - PCSK9 and ANGPTL3.

Femur - Sickle cell anemia, an agonizng disease that affects 100,000 Americans each year, is caused by a single change in the genome - one that makes a normal red blood cell change and lose its shape and properties.

CRISPR can target the cells that produce new red blood cells in the bone marrow and make them produce normal red blood cells, curing sickle cell anemia.

Story Alex Geng, Vardhan Agnihotri Graphic Jeffrey Chen

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Section III: Vicimus / Deep Brain Stimulation

massage brain massage A life altering procedure, deep brain stimulation has allowed patients suffering many neurological diseases to enjoy a more normal life. However, this procedure comes with severe risks. Is it worth it?

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tense group of nurses swarm the table as the surgeons prepare their equipment. Brain scans are scattered throughout the tables as a surgeon marks a group of spots on the brain. The operation begins. As the patient is strapped on the chair, the team of surgeons insert metal rods into the head, wiring the implanted pieces to a device, just like in a Sci-Fi movie. Humanity has arrived at a point where this has become a reality—at least, somewhat of a reality.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurological procedure that has been used to combat neurological disorders in recent years. The process involves insertion of electrodes into specific areas of the brain. In turn, these electrodes emit electrical

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impulses to prevent abnormal behavior. However, while it has been used to great success, DBS is mainly used sparingly, reserved for certain conditions under strict guidelines.

“DBS is a surgical intervention used to treat patients with movement disorders such as essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease and dystonia,” Albany Medical College Neuroscience Professor Julie Pilitis said according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. “It can also be used to control symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and epilepsy. This procedure is utilized when medications are no longer effective for patients maintaining good quality of life.”

The process involves many precise surgical procedures, involving three major components. Firstly, the electrode, also called the lead, is placed into the brain in a spot previously determined through a series of tests. Connected to the lead is an extension wire which bridges the lead with the brain of the system, the internal pulse generator (IPG). The IPG determines how often pulses should be generated, and is often implanted somewhere along the chest.

While the implementation process has been refined in the past two decades, the specific reason for why DBS works is still not clear.

“DBS is thought to act by shifting the low frequency activity observed in [Parkinson’s] to a higher frequency,” medical researcher Sosipatros Bratsos wrote in an article published to Cureus.

“It has been suggested that DBS changes the firing rate of individual neurons, replacing the irregular, electrical activity of the stimulated nucleus with a regular pattern that leads to improved processing of information.”

Additionally, since DBS is a relatively new technology, there has not been much research done on the long term effects on DBS. However, there have been many promising short term results from research conducted on individuals with Parkinson’s disease. In a research paper comparing the effectiveness of DBS against best medical therapy (BMT), one of the top methods of treatment, DBS was found to be more effective and favored.

“Substantial evidence to support the use of DBS in favour of BMT in the treatment of [Parkinson’s] was found, given the observed improvements in motor control, functionality, and [quality of life],” Bratsos said. “Moreover, [DBS decreases] medication costs, which may offset the expense of the DBS procedure in the long term.”

However, the benefits should be compared to the cons and risk of other negative long-term effects

Thalamus Electrode

Subthalamic nucleus Substantia nigra

Increased dopamine release in the substantia nigra

Pulse generator caused by surgical error DBS should only be conducted by very experienced medical professionals. hile the technology looks promising, the deep implications of this potent technology has some concerned. fter all, DBS is an elective procedure that is only used on those with severe patients that no longer can have a good uality of life due to their condition. irstly, the benefit and risk must be analy ed. here are a number of potential side-effects, including speech and visual impairment, mania, and depression. “ isks associated with DBS include bleeding, infection, or misplaced device complications. But associated risks depend on the stimulated brain structure, eurologist ulia uellner, D, said according to eurology dvisor. “It may be apathy or impulsivity when the lower contacts of the electrode are activated. lso, balance and speech may deteriorate after DBS. he procedure is performed on only those who do not have viable treatment options otherwise. his technology is used to prevent the physical harm of symptoms that come from diseases such as arkinson s, but it can sometimes damage the

High frequency stimulation serves to resynchronize the electrical activity of the sub thamlamic nucleus mental well-being of the patient. However, some of these negative effects can be attributed to a sudden change in lifestyle post-treatment as opposed to direct side effects from the DBS treatment itself, emphasi ing the need for mental support and adaptation for the patient post-treatment. ne of the biggest concerns regarding the ethics of DBS is the potential for a change in personal identity. However, a “change in personal identity is a very gray area and can have multiple definitions. enerally, there are two identities numerical and narrative. In a research article published to rontiers, Dr. aart e Schermer described numerical identity as “continuity of the same person over time, defined by bodily criteria like D , or psychological criteria such as autobiographical memory or a set of core-characteristics. hile the side-effects of DBS are not generally extreme, narrative identity may be somewhat altered, an ethical concern. Schermer lays out narrative identity as “the person s self-conception, biography, values and roles as well as his psychological characteristics and style, particularly mood, cognitions and behavior.

treatment s effect on someone s narrative identity brings up a totally new ethical debate. s previously mentioned, DBS can affect relationships with others, partly due to a change in lifestyle post-treatment, changing the narrative identity. he narrative identity is the ever-changing story of one s life. DBS may be a more abrupt change in one s life, but still part of the evolving narrative, sparking ethical discussions in terms of how the treatment alters personal identity.

DBS isn t simply an operation putting metal rods in heads there s still a lot of gray area around the technology. hy the technology works is still unclear, and professionals still don t know whether the long-term effects of DBS are worth the shortterm benefits. However, DBS holds the potential to completely transform people s lives in the years to come.

Story Akash Ragunathan, Aaron Liu, Sampath Rapuri Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Graphic Morgan Chow, Jeffrey Chen

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Closing / Team

team

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Editors-in-Chief Tamal Pilla ’21, Varun Trivedi ‘21

Copy Editors Rishi Mohan ’21, Josh Mysore ‘21

Creative Director Jeffrey Chen '22

Section Editors Sampath Rapuri ’22, Darren Xi ‘22, Jeremy Yu '22

Head Photographer Evan Lai '22

Staff Vardhan Agnihotri '24, Alex Pan '24, Dawson Yao '24, Kevin Lu '24, Aditya Shivaswamy '24, Griffin Goodno '24, Ethan Gao '24, Harry Wang '24, Aditya Goel '23, Renil Gupta '23, Morgan Chow '23, Andrew Kogan '23, Arjun Badi '23, Keshav Krishna '23, Bijaan Noormohamed '23, Aaron Liu '23, Michael Gao '23, Anthony Wang '23, Akash Raghunathan '23, Branden Song '23, Svanik Jaikumar '23, Ekansh Tambe '22, Alex Geng '22, Jonathan Yin '22, Max Chuang '22, Benjamin Gravel '22, Arjun Agarwal '22, Shaan Mehta '22, Isaac Song '22, Vatsal Vemuri '21, Ryan Park '21, Metehan Punar '21

Adviser Dr. Bonnie Flint

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Closing / Magazine Details

details

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Policy The Scientific Marksman is an out-of-school extracurricular activity that works independently from the St. Mark’s School of Texas journalism program.

Throughout the first half of the year, staff members pitch story concepts, hold interviews, and write articles; the majority of the design process occurs in the latter half.

This publication is submitted annually for evaluation to the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).

Colophon The Scientific Marksman is printed by Digital 3 Printing.

The cover is 100# Polar Bear Velvet Cover printed 4/4 in four color process inks. Text is 100# Polar Bear Velvet Text printed 4/4 in four color process inks. Binding is PUR glue perfect binding. The Staff used Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop 2021 on 27-inch Retina 5K Display iMacs and a 13-inch 2013 Macbook Pro to design the spreads. Typefaces include Fogie Serif Font for headlines; Futura PT for subheadings, pull quotes and bylines (multiple weights and styles); and Baskerville for body text.

Special Thanks Our utmost gratitude goes to Dr. Bonnie Flint, our incredible adviser, the St. Mark's Security team, and Debbie O'Toole with Digital 3 Printing.

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The Scientific Marksman Volume 09 2020-2021 St. Mark's School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, TX 75230 (214) 346-8000